N  ZIM^ 


.JjJ^-^^^'f 


tv^A, 


,.M 


i^wijti^atoJSWfl**'*'*''''^  ■ 


L^ 


(/' 


/:/ 


/J)     ^'■• 


i:^^ 


.-*_-<«<  •' 


^■^■'L/-' 


/;"-' 


'  /?--t,'ryl 


/^.r^ 


(""^^^"/-^ 


:^:""?- 


•<?^/« 


i'k 


mmT,  miMMms  mmmmimK. 


THE  LIFE 


Rev.  Charles  ISTerinckx: 


WITH  A  CHAPTER  ON  THE 


EARLY  CATHOLIC  MISSIONS  OF  KENTUCKY; 


COPIOUS  NOTES   ON   THE   PEOGRESS  OF  CATHOLICITY 

IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA, 

FROM  1800  TO  1825; 


AN  ACCOUNT  OP  THE  ESTABLISHMENT  OF  THE  SOCIETY  OP 

JESUS  IN  MISSOURI; 


AN  HISTORICAL  SKETCH 

OF  THE  SISTERHOOD  OF  LORETTO  IN  KENTUCKY,  MISSOURI, 
NEW  MEXICO,  ETC. 


REV.  CAMILLUS  P.  MAES,  J^  J 

Priest  of  the  Diocese  of  Detroit. 


"In  journei/s  often,  in  perils  of  rivers,  inperils  of  robbers,  in  prrils  from  my 
■own  nation,  in  perils  from  the  Gentiles,  in  perils  in  the  city,  in  perils  in  the  u-il- 
derness,  inperils  in  the  sea,  inperils  from  false  brethren  ;  in  labour  andpainful- 
ness,  in  watchings  often,  in  hunger  and  thirst,  in  many  fastings,  in  cold  and  naked- 
ness; besides  those  things  that  are  without;  my  daily  instance,  the  solicitude  of  all 
the  churches."— 2  Corinth,  xi:  26,  27,  28. 


CINCINNATI : 
EOBEET   CLARKE   &   CO. 

1880. 

BOSTON  COLLEGE  LIBRARY 
CHESTNUT  HILL,  MASS. 


COPYRIGHT. 

ROBERT   CLARKE   &  CO. 
1S80. 


6479 


TO 

®be  gxitn&0  of  ^ara  at  t^«  S^^^  ^^  *^^  (f^xa^^^ 

WHOSE  VENERATION 

FOR  THE  BLESSED  MEMORY   OF 
THEIR  SATNTLY  FOUNDER 

AND 

FAITHFUL  PRESERVATION 
OF  HIS   SPIRIT  OF   SELF-DEXIAL, 

ARK    A 

GUARANTEE  OF  LONG-CONTINUED  USEFULNESS, 

€:i)t0  Volume  10  rcapcctfulti;  jDcIitcatcIi  bp 
THE  AUTHOR. 

(iii> 


Xntprfmatur. 


ijiCASPAE  HENRY   BOEGESS, 
BISHOP  OF  DETROIT. 


Detroit,  Mich.,  July  12,  1879. 
(iy) 


PHEFACE. 


When  the  Loretto  Sisters  wei-e  told  by  the  Right 
Eev.  P.  J.  Lavialle,  D.  D,,  of  Louisville,  to  jealously 
treasure  every  scrap  of  paper  relating  to  their  venera- 
ble founder,  the  Bishop  assuring  them  that,  within  a 
few  years,  every  available  document  would  be  hunted 
lip  to  write  his  life,  they  little  thought  that  this  their 
fondest  hope  would  be  realized  so  soon.  Almost 
half  a  century  had  elapsed  since  Father  l!Terinckx  had 
crowned  his  many  labors  by  a  most  precious  death ; 
and  his  memory  was  so  well  nigh  obliterated  outside 
the  homes  of  his  spiritual  children,  that  they  could 
hardly  credit  the  gratifying  prediction. 

The  reader  will  judge  for  himself  whether  I  w^as 
right  in  rescuing  the  memory  of  the  Rev.  Charles 
Nerinckx  from  comparative  oblivion, 

I  had  not  the  remotest  idea  of  writing  his  life,  un- 
til, having  applied  to  a  reverend  gentleman  for  some 
documents  in  his  possession,  with  the  intention  of  em- 
bodying them  in  a  short  sketch  of  the  life  and  works 
of  Father  Kerinckx  for  a  magazine,  I  was  told  he 
could  not  part  with  them,  unless  I  pledged  myself  to 
publish  a  biography  of  the  founder  of  Loretto. 
Fully  aware  of  my  inability  to  do  justice  to  the  sub- 
ject, and  considering  that  more  sacred  duties  allowed 
me  to  devote  to  the  work  but  a  few  hours  through 


y'lVi  PREFACE. 

Mr.  John  Gilmary  Shea,  of  New  York,  who  kindly 
allowed  us  the  use  of  them. 

The  records  of  the  Hospital  of  Dendermonde,  Bel- 
gium, and  a  lengthy  Flemish  circular,  published  in. 
Ghent  by  Rev.  Nerinckx,  whilst  on  a  visit  to  his  na- 
tive country  in  1816,  add  not  a  little  interest  to  the 
work. 

A  precious  collection  of  manuscript  letters,  written 
by  the  venerable  missionary  to  his  parents  and  fiiends 
of  Flanders,  now  in  the  library  of  the  world-renowned 
Bollandist  Fathers,  Brussels,  has  proved  a  mine  of 
wealth.  Were  it  only  for  the  pleasure  and  profit  its 
perusal  and  use  have  given  us,  we  would  cease  to  re- 
gret the,  to  our  interested  friends,  tard}^  publication 
of  this  biography. 

To  the  Most  Kev.  J.  Roosevelt  Bayley,  B.  D., 
Archbishop  of  Baltimore,  for  personal  exertions  in 
culling  Father  JSTerinckx'  Latin  manuscript  letters 
from  among  the  numberless  documents  of  the  Metro- 
politan Archives,  and  intrusting  them  to  us  for  use, 
our  acknowledgments  are  due.  Little  did  we  think, 
when  promising  him  the  early  publication  of  the  work 
in  which  he  took  a  kindly  interest,  that  so  many  ob- 
stacles would  beset  our  way,  and  that  his  own  name 
would  have  been  added  to  the  bright  historical  roll 
of  the  departed  Fathers  before  our  work  would  see 
the  light. 

Our  thanks  are  especially  tendered  to  the  learned 
and  worthy  Father  "Walter  IL  Hill,  S.  J.,  of  St.  Louis 
University,  whose  encouraging  words  and  efficient 
help  have  made  him  like  unto  a  charitable  Booz  to 
the  gleaning  Ruth. 

Any  one  acquainted  with  the  veneration  LorettO' 
entertains  for  its  saintly  founder,  need  not  be  told 
that  the  good  sisters  have  taxed  alike  old  papers  and 
the  memory  of  the  older  members  of  the  community 


PREFACE.  ix 

who  knew  him  well,  to  add  to  the  comparatively 
meager  account  of  so  useful  a  life  as  that  of  the 
Eev.  Charles  Nerinckx. 

The  mention  of  some  supernatural  occurrences 
obliges  us  also,  in  obedience  to  the  decree  of  Pope 
Urban  VIII.,  to  declare  that  all  that  is  related  in  this 
biography,  and  all  the  titles  of  respectful  homage  be- 
stowed on  the  priest  whom  it  honors,  rest  on  no' 
other  authority  but  the  testimony  of  men.  That  tes- 
timony is  above  suspicion,  but  it  is  not  brought  for- 
ward to  forego  in  any  way  the  judgment  of  the 
Church. 

Monroe,  Mich.,  Feast  of  the  Sacred  Heart  of  JesuSy 

June,  1879. 


CONTENTS. 


Dedication iii 

Prkface V 

CHAPTER  I. 

1761-1793. 

Birth   of    Charles    Nerinckx. — Parentage. — Rev.   John    Henry 

Nerinckx. — Mary  Nkrinckx. — Rev.  F.  X.  Decoen,  S.  J. — Early 

EDUCATION. — Rev.    Charles    Nerinckx    ordained    a     Priest. — 

Vicar  in  Mechlin , i-io 

CHAPTER  II. 
1794-1801. 
Pastor  of  Everberg-Meerbeke. — Catechism  and  Sunday  Schools. 
— Reforms. — Father  Nerinckx'  proscription. — Chaplain  in  the 
Hospital   of   Dendermonde. — His  hiding-places. — He    exposes 

HIS  LIFE  TO  chastise   A    BLASPHEMER. — HiS    STUDIES   AND    WRITINGS. 

— Declines  a  re-appointment 11-25 

CHAPTER  III. 

1801-1804. 
The  French  Revolution. — Father  Nerinckx  resolves  to  go 

to  the  American  missions. — An  account  of  his  vocation. 

Princess  Gallitzin  recommends  him  to  Bishop  Carroll. — 
She  meets  him  in  Amsterdam. — Annoying  delay. — Father 
Nerinckx  embarks  for  America. — A  floating  hell.     26-49 

CHAPTER  IV. 

1804-1805. 
Father  Nerinckx  appointed   for   Kentucky. — "Again  a  school- 
boy"   at    Georgetown.— His    humility. — Mademoiselle    de   la 

ROCHEFOUCAULT    AND    THE     FrENCH     AMBASSADOR. — ViSIT     OF     THE 

Trappist  prior. — Father  Nerinckx   prepares  for  his  western 

MISSION. — His  ARRIVAL  is  Kentucky 50-G3 

(xi) 


xu 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  V. 

1672-1S05. 

Early  Kentucky  history. — The  Shawnees. — Virginia  explorers. — 
Catholic  settlers  from  Maryland. — The  league  of  sixty  cath- 
olic FAMILIES. — Father  Whelan. — The  first  catholic  church  in 
Kentucky. — Father  Badin. — St.  Ann's  churi'h. — Other  Ml=;sion- 
ARIES. — Father  Nerinckx G4-76 

CHAPTEIl  V. 
1805-1806. 
Father  Nerinckx  on  the  mission. — A  noble  project, — He  writes 
TO  Belgium  for  men  and  money. — "The  voice  of  one  crying  in 
the  wilderness." — Poverty  of  Kentucky  catholics. — A  visit- 
to  Post  Vincennes. — Who  shall  be  bishop  of  Kentucky? — A 
pen-picture  of  Father  Badin 77-99' 

CHAPTER  VII. 

1805-1807. 
The  Trappists. — Father  Nerinckx  foresees  their  failure. — His 

DESIRE    to    join    THEM. — ObEDIE.VCE    BETTER    THAN     SACRIFICE. — St. 

Stephen's. — Holy  Mary's. — Bells. — Church  furniture. — Dan- 
ville.— St.  Charles'  church. — State  of  the  Catholic  Church  in 
Kentucky  in  1807. — Rev.  Nerinckx'  bodily  sufferings. — His 
missionary  field  of  labor 100-129 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

1807-1808. 

Catholic  schools. — Father  Nerinckx'  zeal  for  the  instruction 

OF  the  children. — "Arms  up!" — He  plans  the   establishment 

of  a  religious  community. — Its  objects. — Building  of  a  convent 

NEAR  St.  Stephen's. — The  building  destroyed  by  fire..  1:50-143 

CHAPTER  IX. 

1807-1808. 

The  Jesuits  in  America. — Catholic  progress  in  Kentucky. — A 
PROCESSION  IN  1807. — Wheeling. — Washington. — New  Lanca.ster. 
— Chillicothe. — Quebec. — Boston. — Knoxville.— Holy  .AIary's. 
— St.  Clara's. — St.  Charles 141:-159' 


CONTENTS.  xiii 

CHAPTER  X. 

1806-1808. 

Tather  Nerinckx'   piety. — His  paily  life. — His  zeal  for  the 

SPIRITUAL     PROGRESS     OF    HIS    PEOPLE. — ThE     DoMINICAXS. ThEIR 

ADVENT     THE     OCCASION     OF     PETTY   PERSECUTIONS    AGAINST    FaTHER 

Nerinckx. — Father  Nerinckx  asks  to   retire  to   some   other 

FIELD    OF    LABOR. — YiELDS    TO    BiSHOP     CaRROLL's    ADVICE,    AND    RE- 
MAINS IN  Kentucky 160-184 

CHAPTER  XL 
1808-1809. 
Pather  Nerinckx  appointed  administrator  and  bishop  of  New 
Orleans. — He  declines  the  appointment. — He  offers  himself 
FOR  the  Louisiana  mission. — New  trouble  in  Kentucky. — The 
New  Orleans  difficulties. — The  ticar-general  opposes  Father 
Nerinckx'  departure 185-213 

CHAPTER  XIL 

1810. 
Missionary  labors. — St.  Anthony's,  Rough  Creek. — St.  James', 
Clifty. — St.  Bernard's,  Adair  City. — Other  settlements. — 
Father  Nerinckx'  courage,  cheerfulness,  and  kindness. — His 
adventure  with  a  wolf. — His  labors  in  the  confessional. — 
Th^:  fruits  of  his  zeal. — A  touching  incident 214-228 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
1811. 
fi'ATHER  Nerinckx'  bodily  strength. — His  adventure  with  Har- 
din.— Carrying  the  cross  in  Bullitt  county. — Saluting  the 
negro. — Father  Nerinckx'  simple  oratory. — His  success  in 
making  converts. — Arrival  of  Bishop  Flaget  in  Kentucky. — 
The  Episcopal  palace 229-238 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

1812. 
New  efforts   i»r   behalf   of  education. — The  little   school  on 
Hardin's  Creek. — Its  first  teachers. — They  retire  from  the 
world. — They      start    a     religious  community. — Election  of 

the      first     superior. — A     PRIMITIVE     BOARDING    SCHOOL. — FaTHER 

Nerinckx  founds  the  Loretto  Society 239-251 


:,iv  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XV. 

1812-1813. 
Churches  of  the  Long  Lick  and   Casey  Creek. — Father  Ner- 

INCKX    REMOVES    TO   St.    ChaRLES. — FiRST    TAKING   OP    THE    VEIL    AT 

LoRETTo.— Black  dye  and  chemical  experience. — First  regu- 
lar ELECTION  OF  A  DeAR  MoTHER.  — FiRST  RULES  AND  THEIR  AU- 
THOR.— Building  a  new  convent  and  residence 252-264 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
1812-1813. 
Bishop  Flaget  visits  Loretto. — New  difficulties. — Death  of 
Mother  Ann  Rhodes. — Her  burial:  self-denial  in  death. — 
Father  Nerinckx'  tribute  to  her  memory. — Dear  Mother 
Mary  Rhodes. — Practicing  holy  poverty. — Fortunate  "  old 
maids!" 265-279- 

CHAPTER  XVIL 

1813-1815. 

Taking  the  teil. — Sister    Monica. — Blessing    the    church  \tsj> 

convent. — "  Do  not   forsake   Providence." — Pittsburg  stoves. 

— New    postulants. — Protestations    of    the     people. — Bishop 

Flaget  explains 280-291 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

1815-1816. 

Father   Nerinckx  goes  to  Europe. — Notes  by  the  way. — His 

JOURNEY  to   Rome. — Impressions:    the  Rome   of  the   Emperors 

and  the  Rome  of  the  Popes. — Pius  VII. — The  papal  blessing. — 

The  Loretto  rules  approved  of. — Return  to  Belgium.. ..292-306 

CHAPTER  XIX. 
1816. 
A  letter  from  Bishop  Flaget:   the  Loretto  institution  a  suc- 
cess.— Father  Nerinckx'  appeal  to  his  Belgian  countrymen 
for  men  and  money. — Its  wonderful  effects 307-331 

CHAPTER  XX. 
1817. 
Father  Nerinckx'   return  to  America. — Dutch  laws. — Emigra- 
tion.— Father  Nerinckx  and  companions  embark  for  the  New 
World. — Tempests  and  pirates.— Arrival  in  Maryland. — His 
associates  join  the  Jesuits 332-34T 


CONTENTS.  XT 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

1817. 
Father  Nerinckx'  various  importations. — Mr.  Hendricks  goes  to 
New  Orleans. — His  death. — Father  Nerinckx'  love  of    the 

BEAUTY  OF  THE  HoUSE  OF  GoD. — He  SUPPLIES  CHURCHES  AND 
CONVENTS  WITH  ECCLESIASTICAL  ORNAMENTS. — ThE  GIFT  OF  THE 
POOR   SERVANT   GIRL. — CELEBRATED    PAINTINGS 348-3G0' 

•CHAPTER  XXII. 

1817. 
Father  Nerinckx  in  Baltimore. — Mr.  and  Mrs.  Barber. — Father 

BeSCHTER   and    THE    PENNSYLVANIA    FARMER. FaTHER    NeRIXCKx' 

ARRIVAL  AT  LoRETTO. — FaTHER  RoSATI   AND   THE   INDIANS. — A  LIST 

OF  THE  Kentucky  CLERGY  IN  1817 361-372: 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

1817-1819. 

Father  Nerinckx  resumes  the   direction  of  his  sisterhood. — 

Establishment  of  Calvary,   1816,  and  Gethsemani,  1818.— St. 

Augustine's,  Lebanon. — Father  Nerinckx  introduces  Rev.  Abel. 

to  his  more   distant   missions. — He   purchases  Mount   Mary's 

FOR  A   brotherhood. — ItS   SUBSEQUENT    HISTORY 373-391 

CHAPTER  XXIV 
1819-1820. 
Consecration  of  the  Cathedral  of  Bardstown. — The  Theologi- 
cal Seminary.— Consecration  of  Bishop  David. — New  Dioceses. 
— Catholic  statistics  of  the  United  States  and  Kentucky. — 
Statistics  of  the  Loretto  society. — Father  Nerinckx'  last 
WILL 392-4ia 

CHAPTER  XXV. 
1820. 
Father  Nerinckx'  second  journey  to  Europe. — Mustela  putorius 
OR  Mephitis  americana? — Major  Noble,  of  Virginia. — Reminis- 
cences BY  THE  wayside:   THE   InDIAN   CHIEF   OP   ViNCENNES. — Mr. 

Thompson,  of  the  Alleghanies. — Baltimore  and  its  environs. 
— London. — Letters  of  Bishop  Flaget,  the  sisters  of  Loretto 
and  Father  Nerinckx 414-444 


xvi  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

1820-1821. 
Father    Nerinckx'    return    to    Kentucky. — How    the    original 

FOUNDERS     OF    THE    JeSUIT     MISSION      IN      MISSOURI     CAME     TO     THE 

United  States. — Sketch  of  the  establishment  of  the  Missouri 
Province. — High  mass  of  thanksgiving  in  Baltimore  Cathe- 
dral..  445-464 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 
1821-1877. 
The  Society  of  Jesus. — Establishment  of  the  West  ern  Mis 
signs. — The  Missouri  mission  organized. — Novitiate  at  Flor- 
issant.— Indian  missions. — The  Pottawatomies  of  Michigan. — 
Father  Desmet  and  companions. — Various  establishments  op 
the  Missouri  Province 465-479 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 
1821-1824. 
From  Baltimore  to  Kentucky. — The  Maryland  postulants. — 
Sister  Alexandrina  Doran's  wonderful  vocation. — Mount 
Mary's. — Establishment  of  Bethania  convent. — Election  op  a 
Dear  Mother. — Establishment  of  Mount  Carmel,  Bethlehem, 
Perry  county,  Missouri,  and  Mount  Olivet. — Holy  Cross 
church. — Project  of  a  Negro  sisterhood 480-511 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 

1824. 
■Crowning  difficulties. — Rev.  Guy  Chabrat's  opposition  to  Father 
Nerinckx. — Father  Nerinckx  leaves  Kentucky. — His  farewell 
letter  to  the  Sisters  of  Loretto. — He  goes  to  Missouri. — He 
visits  Bethlehem,  Perry  Co. — His  death  at  Ste.  Genevieve, 
August  12,  1824 512-532 

CHAPTER  XXX. 
1824. 
Burial  at  the  Barrens,  Mo. — "  Father  Nerinckx  is  in  Heaven!" 
— Removal  of  his  remains  to  Loretto,  Ky. — His  Epitaph. — 
Supernatural  Events. — Rev.  Chabrat  again. — Tributes  to 
Father  Nerinckx'  memory. — Loretto  convent  removed  to  his 
first  residence,  Marion  county,  Ky 533-547 


CONTENTS.  xvii 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 

The  character  and  spirit  of  ^Father  Nerinchx. 
Was  Father  Neeinckx  a  kigorist? — His  mortification.— His  de- 
votion TO  THE  Blessed  Sacrament  and  the  Blessed  Virgin. — 
His  discernment  of  vocations.— His  kindness  to  the  sick. — 
His  unbounded  confidence  in  Divine  Providence. — His  devo- 
tion to  the  Sacred  Heart.— His  humility. 548-570 

'CHAPTER  XXXII.  4 

1824-1847. 

The  Loretto  Society. — Apple  Creek,  Perry  county,  Mo.,  etc. — 

Cape    Girardeau,     Mo. — Father    Nerinckx'    library. — Cedar 

Grove,  Louisville,  Ky. — Mission  among  the  Osage  Indians  in 

1847.— Interesting  account  of  their  customs 571-589 

CHAPTER  XXXIIT. 

1847-1876. 
Florissant,  Mo. — "  Our  Lady  of   Light,"  New  Mexico. — Burning 
OF  Loretto  Convent,  Ky. — Cairo,  III. — Death  of  Father  D. 
Deparcq. — Denver,  Colorado. — Other  foundations.. •••590-612 


APPENDIX. 
I. 

To  the  Right  Rev.  B.  J.  Flaget. 
A  hymn. — Some  pious  sentiments   on  the  flowers  which  adokn 

THE    ALTAR 613-617 

II. 

Ecclesiastical  Superiors  of  Loretto.. 618 

III. 
Mother  Superiors  of  the  Loretto  Society... 618 

IV. 

Statistics  of  the  Loretto  Society  in  1879 619 

Index. 621 


THE  LIFE 

OF 


REVEREND  CHARLES  NERINCKX. 


CHAPTER  I. 

1761-1793. 

BiKTH  OP  Charles  Nerinckx. — Parentage. — Eev.  John  Henr-t 
Nerinckx. — Mary  Nerinckx. — Key.  F.  X.  Decoen,  S.  J. — 
Early  education. — Rev.  Charles  Nerinckx  ordained  a 
PRIEST. — Vicar  in  Mechlin. 

Charles  Nerinckx,  born  October  2,  1761,  at 
HerfFelingen,  province  of  Brabant,  Belgium,  was 
the  oldest  of  fourteen  children.  His  father,  Sebas- 
tian Nerinckx,  a  doctor  of  some  note,  belonged  to 
one  of  those  jDatriarchal  families  of  the  middle 
class,  rich  in  faith  and  virtue,  so  numerous  in 
Catholic  Flanders.  Shortly  after  he  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  practice  of  his  profession,  he  settled 
in  Hertfelingen ;  and,  having  found  in  Miss  Pe- 
tronilla  Langendries  the  solid  piety  that  bespoke 
the  "valiant  woman,"  whose  praises  are  re- 
corded on  the  blessed  pages  of  Holy  Writ,  "his 
heart  trusted  in  her,"  and  he  chose  her  for  his 
wife. 

After  the  birth  of  Charles,  the  first-born  of 
this  happy  union,  Mr.  Nerinckx,  who  was   ac- 


2  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1761- 

quiring  quite  an  enviable  reputation  as  a  skillful 
practitioner,  resolved  to  extend  the  field  of  his 
usefulness.  In  1762,  he  moved  with  his  little 
family  to  Ninove,  province  of  East-Flanders, 
where,  besides  the  advantages  which  a  city  af- 
forded to  a  man  of  his  talents  he  found  an  op- 
portunity of  giving  a  good  and  solid  education 
to  his  children. 

Here,  as  in  the  rural  village  of  Herifelingen, 
the  pious  couple  lived  secluded  and  without  os- 
tentation, distinguished,  if  at  all,  from  their 
neighbors,  more  by  the  earnestness  and  priest- 
like zeal  which  the  doctor  brought  to  the  dis- 
charge of  his  duties,  and  the  unobtrusive  piety 
and  conscientious  care  with  which  the  young 
mother  governed  her  household,  than  by  any  ex- 
terior show.  These  sterling  qualities  of  heart 
and  soul  they  had  inherited  from  their  sires,  the 
renowned  burgesses  of  Flanders,  so  jealous  of 
their  rights  and  liberties,  and  so  loyal  to  their 
God  and  Prince,  w^ho  if  they  could  not  boast  of 
ancient  genealogies,  or  obtrude  the  blazon  of  an- 
cestral escutcheons  upon  their  fellow-citizens, 
took  a  legitimate  and  christian  pride  in  having, 
for  generations  past,  given  zealous  and  devoted 
priests  to  the  sanctuary,  pious  and  self-sacrific- 
ino-  nuns  to  the  cloister.  Father  JN'erinckx  men- 
tions  in  his  letters,  an  uncle  a  priest,  an  aunt 
a  Benedictine  nun,  and  Mother  Constantia  Lan- 
gendries,  his  mother's  sister,  who  was  superior 
of   the    Hospital   of    St.    Blase,    Dendermonde, 


1793.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  3 

which  office  she  held  for  fourteen  years,  till  1823, 
the  year  of  her  death. 

Nor  did  the  young  generation  prove  unfaithful 
to  the  pious  traditions  of  the  family.  The  Holy 
Ghost  tells  us  that  "  the  generation  of  the  right- 
eous shall  be  blessed;"  and  blessed  indeed  was 
the  Nerinckx  generation :  blessed  with  the  force 
of  character  and  earnestness  of  will  which  made 
of  the  father  the  universally  respected  citizen 
and  the  self-sacrificing  doctor ;  blessed  with  the 
deep  and  abiding  religious  feeling  which  made 
of  the  mother  the  pious  and  queenly  matron, 
who  "hath  looked  w^ell  on  the  paths  of  her 
house,  hath  not  eaten  her  bread  idle.  Her  child- 
ren rose  up  and  called  her  blessed,"  and  so,  no 
doubt,  did  the  church  and  society  which  were 
benefited  by  their  labors. 

We  may  confidently  assert  that  there  are  few 
families,  even  in  Catholic  Belgium,  which  can 
show  so  noble  a  record  of  religious  vocations  as 
the  Nerinckx  family  exhibits.  Besides  Charles, 
the  subject  of  this  biography,  we  note  the  follow- 
ing: 

Peter  Joseph,  the  second  eldest,  born  May  16, 
1763,  joined  the  Brothers  of  Charity,  and  died  a 
member  of  that  Congregation,  June  17,  1796. 

John  Henry,  born  July  15,  1776,  in  Ninove, 
was  only  fifteen  when  he  became  a  novice  in  the 
Capuchin  Convent  of  Scherpenheuvel.  He  had 
not  yet  made  his  vows,  when,  in  the  name  of  a 
liberty  they  did  not  wish  for,  the  religious  of 
that  house  were  thrown  upon  a  cold  and  unfeel- 


4  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [17G1- 

ing  world  by  the  agents  of  the  French  Directory, 
and  left  "  free  "  to  choose  between  the  chains  of  a 
galley-slave  and  the  wandering  life  of  a  "rebel  " 
priest  tracked  by  the  gens  d'armes.  John  lived 
for  some  time  in  quiet  seclusion  at  the  parsonage 
of  his  brother  Charles,  then  pastor  of  Everberg- 
Meerbeke;    and  when,  on  the  21st  of  October, 

1797,  sickness  prevented  his  brother  from  ac- 
companying his  parishioners  on  their  annual  pil- 
grimage to  Our  Lady  of  Scherpenheuvel,  he 
thought  he  could  take  his  place  without  incur- 
ring any  additional  risk.  But  the  blood-hounds 
of  the  Revolution  had  not  lost  sight  of  him; 
they  only  waited  for  a  plausible  excuse  to  arrest 
him.  The  same  night  John  Henry  was  incar- 
cerate din  the  Treurenberg  dungeon,  near  St.  Gu- 
dule,  Brussels.  He  then  languished  for  a  few 
months  in  the  St.  Maurice's  prison,  of  Rochefort, 
France,  and  was  sent  in  company  with  many 
priests  to  the  penal  colony  of  Cayenne,  in  April 

1798.  But  the  young  man  had  an  indomitable 
courage,  and  resolved  to  profit  of  the  first  oppor- 
tunity to  make  good  his  escape.  God  favored 
his  designs.  After  a  year  of  incredible  suffer- 
ings, he  succeeded  in  eluding  the  vigilance  of  his 
keepers,  reached  the  English  colony  of  Berbis, 
and  through  the  good  offices  of  Mr.  Bottenburg, 
its  governor,  secured  passage  on  a  frigate  ready 

.  to  sail  for  Liverpool,  for  himself  and  his  six  com- 
panions, the  only  survivors  of  thirty-four  Belgian 
exiles.  They  landed  at  Liverpool  on  the  21st 
of  August,  1799. 


1793]  LIFE  OF  EEV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  5 

At  the  urgent  request  of  many  French  and 
Belgian  exiled  priests,  who  had  found  a  refuge  in 
London,  Mr.  JVerinckx  and  his  companions  went 
to  the  metropolis.  Encouraged  by  the  venera- 
ble Abbe  Carron,  and  convinced  from  the  extra- 
ordinary circumstances  of  his  escape  that  he  was 
where  God  wanted  him,  John  JSTerinckx  resolved 
to  devote  his  life  to  the  Catholic  cause  in  Eng- 
land. He  was  ordained  a  priest  in  the  little 
chapel  of  Charlton  street,  Clarendon  square,  on 
the  10th  of  June,  1802,  by  Mgr.  Godard  de  Bel- 
boeuf,  the  exiled  Bishop  of  Avranches,  and  be- 
gan his  priestly  career  there  as  assistant  priest 
to  Father  Carron.  Together  with  the  latter,  he 
built  the  new  church  of  St.  Aloysius,  Somers- 
town,  consecrated  in  1808,  and  remained  sole 
pastor  of  this  congregation  when  Father  Carron 
returned  to  France,  in  1814.  Helped  by  his  sis- 
ter Mary  Ann,  he,  in  1822,  established  schools, 
the  direction  of  which  he  gave,  in  November, 
1830,  to  Madame  d'Houet,  the  foundress  of  the 
Society  of  Faithful  Companions  of  Jesus,  in 
France.  He  thus  became  the  London  founder 
of  that  religious  community  which  has  done  so 
miuch  for  Catholic  education  in  England. 

Rev.  John  H.  jN^erinckx  died  in  Somerstown, 
London,  December  22,  1855,  at  the  ripe  old  age 
of  eighty-four  years.* 

*Cfr.  "  La  chapelle  Frangaise  a  Londres.  Precis  historique 
sur  ce  Sanctuaire,  memorable  par  son  origine,  Tinfortune  de  ses 
fondateurs,  les  personnages  illustres  qui  I'ont  frequente  ou  visite, 
etc.  Vie  de  Mr.  J.  H.  J.  Nerinckx,  instituteur  des  Fidelea 
•Compagnesde  Jesus  en  Angleterre;  par  G.  F.  de  Grand  Maisou 


6  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1761- 

Mary  Catherine,  born  March  25, 1768,  entered 
the  abbey  of  Rosendael,  in  Mechlin,  April  22, 
1792. 

Jane  Constance,  born  May  21,  1770,  became  a 
religious  in  the  abbey  of  Swyvergue,  Dender- 
monde. 

Mary  Ann,  born  October  19,  1773,  belonged  to 
the  same  Order  of  Citeaux,  when  all  three  were 
forcibly  ejected  from  their  monasteries  by  the 
Revolution.  Mary  Ann  joined  her  brother  John 
in  London,  in  1817,  and  helped  him  in  the  founda-^ 
tion  and  management  of  his  schools  and  orj^than 
asylum,  until  1830.  Fearful  lest  her  presence 
among  the  children,  who  were  very  much  at- 
tached to  her,  might  interfere  with  the  success 
of  the  new  teachers,  she  withdrew  from  the  school 
when  the  sisters  took  it  in  charge,  and  sub- 
sequently returned  to  Belgium.  God  rewarded 
this  touching  self-abnegation,  and  at  the  age  of 
59  she  was  received  as  a  novice  in  the  convent 
of  the  Sacred  Heart,  Hoegaerden,  in  1832.  She 
made  her  profession  the  next  year,  and  devoted 
herself  almost  exclusively  to  the  instruction  of 
the  children  of  the  poorer  classes,  till  the  time 
of  her  death,  July  21,  1840. 

The  mother  of  the  Rev.  F.  X.  Decoen,  S.  J.,  a 
priest  on  the  American  mission,  was  a  sister  of 
Father  Nerinckx.  Rev.  Decoen  came  to  America 
in  1843,  joined  the  Society  of  Jesus,  laid  the 

y  Bruno.  2me  edit.  Londres:  Burns  and  Lambert,  17  Portman 
street;  Paris:  Lecoffre  &  Compagnie,  rue  du  vieux  Colombier^ 
29—1863."     pp.  221.     Illustrated. 


1793.]  LIFE  OF  EEV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  7 

foundations  of  St.  Gall's  congregation  and  churcK 
in  Milwaukee,  Wisconsin,  some  twenty  years  ago, 
and  died  on  the  17th  day  of  July,  1864,  at  St. 
Mary's  Pottowatomie  Mission,  Kansas,  whilst 
there  on  a  visit  from  Leavenworth  City,  his 
abode. 

Besides  Father  Nerinckx'  aunt  who  became 
superior  of  the  Hospital  of  Dendermonde,  three 
of  his  first  cousins,  daughters  of  Mr.  Albert  Ner- 
inckx,  of  St.  Martin's-Lenneck,  in  Flanders,  be- 
came religious  in  the  same  monastery ;  and, 
even  to  this  day,  the  name  of  Nerinckx  is  a  com- 
mon one  among  the  clergy  of  the  Archdiocese 
of  Mechlin. 

Owing  to  the  generosity  of  the  Catholics,  edu- 
cational establishments  were  numerous  in  Bel- 
gium, previous  to  the  brutal  French  Revolution, 
which  subverted  science  as  well  as  morality  and 
religion.  Having  received  the  first  rudiments 
of  elementary  education  at  home,  Charles  Ner- 
inckx  was  sent  to  the  college  of  Enghien,  in  the 
province  of  Hainaut,  a  city  within  ten  miles  of 
Mnove.  Thence  he  went,  in  1774,  to  Gheel,  in 
the  Kempen,  where  he  pursued  his  Latin  studies 
at  the  college  of  that  place ;  and,  after  having* 
completed  his  course  of  philosophy  at  the  famous 
Catholic  University  of  Louvain,  to  the  satisfac- 
tion of  his  professors  and  his  own  credit,  he  de- 
termined to  study  for  the  Church.  The  fact  of 
his  being  born  in  the  Archdiocese  of  Mechlin,  to- 
gether with  the  influence  of  college  associations, 
made  him  select  the  Archdiocese,  in  preference 


8  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1761- 

to  the  Diocese  of  Ghent  within  the  jurisdiction 
of  which  his  parents  lived,  and  he  accordingly 
entered  the  theological  Seminary  of  Mechlin  in 
the  fall  of  1781. 

Deeply  impressed  with  the  importance  of  the 
step  he  was  about  to  take,  Charles  Nerinckx  had 
meditated  long  and  earnestly  upon  the  respon- 
sible duties  of  the  Catholic  priesthood.  To  that 
sublime  state  he  had  aspired  with  all  the  longing 
desires  of  a  God-loving  heart ;  and  his  early  fer- 
vor and  extraordinary  purity  of  soul,  which  he  had 
known  how  to  preserve  amidst  the  many  tempta- 
tions of  university  life,  had  been  a  continual  and 
most  fit  preparation  for  it.  Satisfied  as  to  the 
designs  of  Providence  in  his  regard,  he  had 
made  of  himself  a  holocaust  of  propitiation  to 
God,  and  looked  forward  with  a  holy  ambition 
to  the  time  when  he  would  be  wholly  His  in  the 
work  of  the  ministry.  He  longed  with  all  the 
energy  which  faith  in  God  and  zeal  for  the  sal- 
vation of  souls  could  lend  to  an  enlightened  mind 
and  an  indomitable  will,  to  counteract  the  grow- 
ing indifference  which  the  atheistic  teachings  of 
the  French  j)hilosophers  of  the  17th  and  18th 
centuries  had  fomented  in  his  dear  country. 

In  a  very  short  time,  the  young  levite  became 
conspicious  among  his  companions  for  virtue  and 
studiousness,  and  he  soon  won  the  confidence  and 
esteem  of  all  his  professors,  more  especially  of 
Very  Rev.  Vandevelde,  then  President  of  the 
Metropolitan  Seminary,  and  afterward  Bishop 
of  Ruremondc,   who   honored    him   in   after-life 


1793.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  9 

with  an  undying  friendship.  After  the  usual 
theological  course  of  four  years,  during  which  the 
success  attending  his  studies  was  as  great  as  his 
life  Avas  holy  and  pure,  young  Nerinckx  was  or- 
dained a  priest  towards  the  end  of  1785 ;  and,  not- 
withstanding his  profound  humility  which  made 
him  more  solicitous  to  conceal  his  merits  than  to 
gain  the  good  will  of  his  superiors,  he  was  ap- 
pointed in  1786,  Vicar  of  the  Metropolitan  par- 
ish of  St.  Rumoldus,  Mechlin.*  Here  his  zeal 
for  the  salvation  of  souls,  and  for  the  instruction 
of  the  poorer  classes,  whose  interests  are  but  too 
often  neglected  in  the  large  cities  because  they 
are  less  prominent  in  the  furtherance  of  the  good 
works  encouraged  by  the  clergy,  attracted  upon 
him  the  attention  of  the  venerable  Prince  John 
Henry  Cardinal  de  Frankenbergh,  the  illustrious 
Archbishop  of  Mechlin. 

Stimulated  by  the  paternal  encouragement  of 
this  Prelate  who  took  a  great  interest  in  his 
modest  labors,  the  young  Vicar  soon  beheld  his 
generous  efforts  crowned  with  abundant  fruits. 
He  felt  amply  repaid  for  his  pains,  when  he 
witnessed  the  poor  laborers,  better  instructed  in 
their  christian  duties,  and  more  satisfied  with 
their  lot,  fill  to  overflowing  the  vast  cathedral 
church  where  he  dispensed  to  them,  at  early 
Mass,  the  Bread  of  life.  Every  Sunday  he 
preached  to  them  in  earnest  and  simple  words, 

*Autograph  letter  of  Father  Nerinckx  of  November  20,  1803, 
to  Bishop  Carroll  of  Baltimore,  in  which  he  styles  himself  "  Vi- 
carius  Secundarius,"  i.  e.,  second  assistant  jmest. 


10  I'IFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.    [1761-93; 

better  adapted  to  the  obtuse  intellect  of  his 
hearers,  than  the  flowing  rhetorical  efltbrts  which, 
at  that  period,  constituted  the  pulpit  eloquence 
of  the  day,  and  to  which,  as  he  testifies  in  one 
of  his  letters,  he  never  laid  claim. 

Though  ably  and  zealously  discharging  the 
duties  of  this  important  position  for  eight  years, 
Rev.  Ncrinckx  fitted  himself  at  the  same  time 
for  further  and  more  important  conquests  of 
souls,  by  an  assiduous  study  of  the  master  intel- 
lects in  the  domain  of  theology  and  canon  law ; 
whilst  his  austere  habits  of  life,  enabled  him  to 
give  to  meditation  and  prayer,  the  early  hours  of 
the  day,  w^ithout  in  the  least  impairing  his  robust 
health,  sustained  by  an  iron  constitution  that 
ignored  exhaustion  or  weariness.  Edifying  the 
people  by  his  extraordinary  piety  and  austerity 
of  life,  he  was  at  the  same  time  gaining  the  re- 
spect of  his  elder  brethren  in  the  priesthood, 
whom  his  child-like  simplicity  caused  him  ta 
venerate  as  fathers,  by  his  profound  knowledge 
of  theology  and  his  apt  interpretation  of  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  with  which  his  letters  show 
him  to  have  been  very  familiar.  From  the  first 
his  name  was  prominent  among  the  most  learned 
in  the  annual  Concursus  for  promotion,  regularly 
held  in  accordance  with  the  recommendations  of 
the  Council  of  Trent ;  hence,  no  one  was  sur- 
prised, when,  the  pastorate  of  Everberg-Meer- 
beke  having  become  vacant  by  the  death  of  its 
incumbent,  Rev.  Charles  Nerinckxwas  promoted 
to  fill  the  vacancy,  notwithstanding  his  comi)ara- 
live  youth. 


CHAPTER  II. 

1794-1801. 

Pastor  of  Everberg-Meerbeke. — Catechism  and  Sunday 
Schools. — Eeeorms. — Father  Nerixckx'  proscription— Chap- 
lain IN  the  Hospital  of  Dendermonde. — His  hiding-places. 
— He  exposes  his  life  to  chastise  a  blasphemer. — His  studies 
AND  writings. — Declines  a  re-appointment. 

Father  Nerinckx  entered  upon  the  duties  of 
his  new  charge  in  1794.  The  parish  of  Ever- 
berg-Meerbeke, situated  midway  between  Brus- 
sels and  Mechlin,  in  the  province  of  Brabant, 
was  in  a  sad  state  of  disorder. 

The  rationalistic  teachings  of  the  last  century 
had  caused  a  singular  falling  off  in  the  number 
of  ecclesiastical  vocations.  Hence,  men  who  in 
the  common  order  of  things,  had  a  long-standing 
right  to  an  honorable  rest  in  their  old  age,  were 
left  in  the  ministry  to  administer,  as  best  they 
could,  to  the  spiritual  wants  of  the  people  commit- 
ted to  their  care.  Having  lost  the  necessary  vigor 
of  mind,  and,  for  the  greater  part,  afflicted  with 
bodily  iniirmities,  the  natural  consequences  of 
old  age,  these  poor  priests  often  died  broken- 
hearted, because  unable  to  attend  to  their  du- 
ties, and  held  responsible  for  the  evils  attending 
their  unwillino-  neo-lect.     The  disastrous  eflPects- 


^O     "^O' 


12  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1794- 

of  this  state  of  affairs  were  soon  apparent 
all  over  the  land.  Peoj^le  grew  lukewarm  in 
their  religious  duties;  many  lost  the  faith; 
and  the  nation  was  soon  ripe  for  that  stupendous 
French  Revolution,  true  deluge  of  impiety  and 
socialism,  that  astonished  all  but  those  who 
knew  what  inroads  irreligion  had  made,  and  ren- 
dered every  man  in  the  land,  either  a  horrified 
victim  or  a  bloodthirsty  criminal. 

This  was  exactly  the  case  in  Everberg-Meer- 
beke.  The  old  age  of  the  late  incumbent  of  the 
Meerbeke  rectory,  had  long  unfitted  him  for 
parochial  duties.  Hence,  the  church  was  dilapi- 
dated, and  the  spiritual  wants  of  the  jjarishion- 
ers  were  neglected ;  in  fact,  the  deserted  old 
ruin,  void  of  worshipers,  would  have  discouraged 
any  but  a  young  priest  of  Father  J^erinckx' 
force  of  character  and  indomitable  energy. 

He  at  once  went  about  his  work  of  reform  in 
good  earnest,  and  in  the  right  way.  The  child- 
ren were  the  first  to  claim  his  attention ;  for  he 
knew  full  well  that  to  gain  the  love  of  the  little 
ones,  was  to  enlist  the  good  will  of  their  parents. 
The  change  of  pastors  rather  pleased  the  parish- 
ioners, and  Father  Nerinckx  profited  of  that  first 
good  impression,  and  of  the  curiosity  of  his  peo- 
ple to  see  their  new  spiritual  guide,  to  urge  them 
strongly  to  send  their  children  to  church  so  that 
he  might  get  acquainted  with  them.  The  inter- 
est manifested  by  the  pastor  in  the  welfare  of 
their  offspring,  could  not  but  flatter  the  parental 
pride  of  his  flock ;  they  brought  them ;  and  the 


1801.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHAELES  NERINCKX.  13 

dear  little  people,  shy  at  first  at  being  forced 
into  the  presence  of  a  priest — a  being  that  many 
a  one  likely  saw  for  the  first  time — were  soon 
captivated  by  his  engaging  manners.  The  glow- 
ing accounts  they  brought  home  of  the  to  them 
new  enjoyments  of  religion,  of  the  interesting- 
little  exercises  of  piety,  of  the  edifying  anecdotes 
related  by  their  pastor,  soon  told  on  the  grown 
people.  This  was  a  trait  of  character  they  had 
not  looked  for  in  the  austere  looking  priest ;  and, 
as  is  always  the  case,  they  were  bound  to  see  for 
themselves. 

Bedewed  by  the  grace  from  on  high,  the  sim- 
ple yet  earnest  exhortations  of  Rev.  Nerinckx 
soon  worked  a  manifest  change  in  his  flock. 
Some  youths  of  both  sexes  eagerly  entered  into 
the  pastor's  plans  for  improvement,  and  encour- 
aged by  his  frequent  visits,  were  but  too  happy  to 
teach  in  the  diiferent  districts  into  which  he  had 
divided  his  parish  for  the  regular  and  convenient 
catechetical  instruction  of  the  children.  This 
laudable  ambition  was  increased  when  he  ob- 
tained for  those  who  devoted  themselves  to  the 
good  work,  the  indulgences  granted  by  the  Holy 
Father  to  the  societies  of  christian  instruction 
in  Rome ;  and  in  a  few  years  there  was  not  a 
better  instructed  people  in  the  Archdiocese, 
whilst  the  name  of  the  pious  pastor  was  men- 
tioned with  respect,  not  only  in  the  neighboring 
country,  but  in  the  distant  parishes  of  Brabant 
and  Antwerp.  Every  Sunday  and  holiday,  after 
Vespers,  all  the  children  would  assemble  in  the 


14  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1794- 

different  sections  of  the  parish,  where  a  list  of 
their  names  was  carefully  kept  by  the  teacher, 
they  were  then  taught  sacred  songs  and  canticles 
composed  by  Father  Nerinckx  in  honor  of  the 
Child  Jesus  and  of  his  Blessed  Mother,  and  in- 
structed in  their  catechism.  The  usual  after- 
noon visit  of  the  pastor  was  sufficient  reason  for 
the  children  never  to  be  absent,  since  the  least 
neglect  was  made  the  occasion  of  an  inquiry  as 
to  the  cause  of  it ;  and  the  prospect  of  a  kind 
word,  or  perhaps  a  picture,  was  more  than  en- 
couragement enough  to  apply  themselves  to  the 
study  of  the  lesson  given  them. 

Such  a  course  of  thorough  training  could  not 
but  bear  its  desired  salutary  fruits.  The  children 
grew  up  "in  age  and  wisdom  before  God  and 
men,"  and  their  eagerness  to  assist  at  the  Scrip- 
tural lessons  brought  many  a  hardened  parent  to 
come  to  the  old  dilapidated  church,  where  the 
good  conduct  of  the  little  ones  edified  the  most 
skeptical,  and  moved  them  to  imitate  their  piety. 
The  parish  of  Everberg-Meerbeke,  which,  a  few 
years  before,  had  been  pointed  at  as  a  perfect 
Bedlam  of  disorder  and  irreligion,  became  a 
model  for  imitation  to  all,  so  anxious  had  its  in- 
habitants become  to  correspond  with  the  pious 
endeavors  of  the  pastor  for  their  conversion. 
They  went  regularly  to  the  holy  Sacraments,  and 
lived  a  practical  christian  life. 

The  spirit  of  lively  faith  being  revived  in  his 
parishioners,  Father  Werinckx  had  no  difficulty 
in  making  them  understand  the  necessity  of  re- 


1801.]  LIFE  OF  KEY.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  15 

pairing  their  house  of  worship  in  a  manner  be- 
fitting the  joresence  of  the  God  who  dwelt 
therein.  Thanks  to  their  generous  contribu- 
tions, he  was  soon  enabled  to  remodel  the  old 
church  to  the  full  extent  of  his  love  for  the  glory 
of  the  house  of  God. 

Nor  did  his  zeal  stop  there.  He  was  aiming 
at  a  thorough  reformation  of  his  parish,  and 
sought  to  have  his  flock  practice  in  their  daily 
lives  at  home,  what  he  taught  them  in  the  church. 
With  true  pastoral  vigilance,  the  virtuous  priest 
often  went  the  rounds  of  his  congregation ;  and, 
although  he  never  entered  the  house  of  any  one 
unless  called  to  administer  to  the  spiritual  wants 
of  its  inmates,  he  abolished,  in  a  great  measure, 
the  promiscuous  dances,  which  but  too  often  led 
to  excesses  and  to  a  laxity  of  morals  unbecom- 
ing a  Catholic  people.  Processions  in  honor  of 
the  Blessed  Sacrament  and  of  the  Blessed  Vir- 
gin fostered  the  public  devotion  and  its  unre- 
strained exterior  expression  ;  whilst  confraterni- 
ties and  pious  associations  for  visiting  the  sick, 
praying  for  the  dead,  etc.,  enabled  all  to  per- 
form works  of  christian  charity,  and  to  progress 
in  virtue  by  mutual  good  example. 

As  a  natural  consequence,  the  atheistic  teach- 
ings of  the  French  revolutionists,  whose  armies 
had  recently  invaded  Belgium  and  were  every- 
where spreading  the  irreligious  spirit  of  their  so- 
called  government,  found  little  favor  in  the  now 
thoroughly  Catholic  village  of  Everberg-Meer- 
beke.     The   pious   priest    became,  therefore,  a 


16  LIFE  OF  EEV.  CHARLES  NERIXCKX.         [1794- 

special  object  of  suspicion  to  the  revolutionary 
rulers  of  the  French  Republic.  But  he  heeded 
them  not,  IN^otwithstanding  severe  prohibitory 
laws,  he  fearlessly  fulfilled  the  duties  of  his  pas- 
toral office,  until,  having  said  mass  and  publicly 
assisted  at  a  funeral  service  without  previously 
taking  the  blasphemous  oath  of  undying  hatred 
to  royalty,  required  of  all  priests  who  wished  to 
retain  their  position,  an  order  issued  for  his  ar- 
rest, in  1797,  put  an  untimely  end  to  his  noble 
work  in  the  third  year  of  his  administration.* 
However,  Father  Nerinckx  was  living  in  the 
hearts  of  his  parishioners ;  one  and  all  were 
more  anxious  for  his  safety  than  for  their  own. 
They  gave  him  timely  warning  to  elude  the  of- 
ficers sent  to  arrest  him,  and  enabled  him  to 
avoid  the  fate  which  befel  his  brother  John  and 
so  many  of  his  brethren  in  the  ministry. 

Disguised  in  the  shabby  dress  of  a  peasant, 
Father  Nerinckx  fled  by  unfrequented  paths, 
traveling  in  the  dead  of  night,  and  safely  reached 
the  city  of  Dendermonde,  the  6th  of  August, 
1797.  He  there  secreted  himself  in  the  Hospi- 
tal of  St.  Blase,  which  was  under  the  charge  of 
twelve  hospitalier  nuns,  among  whom  was  his 
aunt.  Mother  Constantia  Langendries. 

The  chaplain  of  this  institution  had  been  ar- 
rested a  few  weeks  previous,  by  the  emissaries  of 
the  revolution,  and  exiled  to  the  penal  colony  of 
the  Isle  of  Rhe,  his  old  age  disabling  him  for  the 
more  active  duties  which  these  blood-hounds  re- 

♦Letter  to  Archbishop  Carroll.     Sup.  Cit. 


1801.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERIXCKX.  17 

quired  of  the  younger  ecclesiastics,  whom  they 
forced  to  bear  arms  and  to  undergo  the  cruel  vigils 
of  garrison  life  in  Wezel  and  other  Upper-Rhine 
fortresses.  Spared  from  the  general  persecu-. 
tion  because  of  the  utilitarian  character  .of  their 
institute,  but  left  without  a  guide  in  the  painful 
discharge  of  their  duties,  and  deprived  of  the 
spiritual  consolations  which  alone  sustain  relig- 
ious in  their  w^orks  of  heroic  charity,  the  poor 
nuns  received  Father  JN'erinckx  like  an  angel 
sent  from  Heaven  to  minister  unto  them  and 
uphold  their  drooping  spirits.  They  found  an 
occasion  of  apprising  the  noble  martyr,  De 
Broglie,  Bishop  of  Ghent,  of  the  arrival  of  the 
persecuted  priest  in  their  midst,  and  he  not  only 
gave  leave,  but  requested  Father  Nerinckx  most 
urgently,  to  attend  to  the  spiritual  wants  of  the 
community  and  of  the  many  sick  intrusted  to 
their  care. 

Satisfied  again  that  he  was  where  God  wanted 
him,  and  resolved  to  await  the  result  of  the  im- 
pious warfare  which  the  powders  of  Hell  were 
waging  against  the  faith  in  the  land  of  his  birth, 
Father  JN^erinckx  set  to  work  with  his  habitual 
energy,  and  his  ministrations  bore  abundant 
fruits.  The  fervid  piety  that  was  manifest  in 
all  his  actions,  and  his  entire  resignation  to  the' 
holy  will  of  God,  were  a  great  encouragement 
to  the  nuns  in  the  midst  of  the  dangers  with 
which  they  were  surrounded,  and  animated  them 
in  the  discharge  of  their  often  loathsome  duties. 
Not  satisfied  with  leading  the  members  of  the 


18  -LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1794- 

pious  community  to  a  high  degree  of  perfection 
by  practical  instructions  and  salutary  example, 
he  faithfully  attended  the  sick  and  wounded  who 
■crowded  the  infirmary  hall  of  the  hospital.     He 
usually  spent  the  whole  night  in  consoling  the 
sufferers   and    bringing  the  last  Sacraments  in 
good  time  to  those  who  were  in  danger  of  death, 
and  then  devoutly  prepared  for  the  holy  Sacri- 
fice of  the  Mass,  which  he  said  at  two  o'clock  in 
the    morning,    for    the    community.      After    a 
lengthy  thanksgiving,  he  would  visit   in   their 
cells,  the  wounded  prisoners  of  the  revolution- 
ary battles  shut  up  in  the  hospital,  and  assuage 
their  bodily  sufferings  whilst  imparting  to  them 
spiritual  succor.      At  that  dead  hour  of  night, 
the  heroic  priest  brought  the  holy  sacraments  to 
these  unfortunate  victims  of  war,  who  were  to 
be  hurried  to  execution  the  same  morning,  and 
refreshed  them  with  the  happy  assurance  that, 
when  they  were  led  to  a  horrible  and  unmerited 
death,  he  Avould  be  at  the  window  of  his  place 
of  concealment  to  impart   to   them    once  more 
sacramental   absolution.      Loaded  with   chains, 
like  murderers,  hurried  along  the  streets  by  the 
howls  of  an  infuriated  mob  and  the  butt-ends  of 
soldiers'  guns,  the  poor  fellows  would  cast  a  fur- 
tive glance  to  where  they  knew  Father  Nerinckx 
was  watching  them  with  an  encouraging  nod  and 
uplifted  hand,  and  bow  their  heads  in  sign  of 
contrition   and   gratitude,  whilst   the   consoling 
words  of  forgiveness  were  silently  wafting  over 
the  heads  of  the  clamoring  crowd  and  bringing 


1801.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  19 

peace  and  heavenly  happiness  to  their  heavy 
hearts,  with  the  sign  of  the  Cross.  Father  Ner- 
inckx  often  referred  in  later  years  to  the  sufferings 
of  these  poor  men,  with  the  greatest  feelings  of 
commiseration.  One  especially  had  excited  his 
compassion ;  when,  passing  through  the  streets 
on  his  way  to  execution,  the  wretch  lifted  with 
one  hand  the  maimed  stump  of  the  other,  which 
had  been  cut  off  by  the  bloody  soldiery  and  left 
for  several  days  to  be  eaten  away  by  gangrene, 
raising  at  the  same  time  his  eyes  to  Heaven  wdth 
an  imploring  look  for  strength  and  mercy. 

Often  too,  during  that  reign  of  terror,  and  at 
the  imminent  peril  of  his  life,  Father  Nerinckx 
visited,  by  stealth,  his  abandoned  parish  of  Meer- 
beke,  administering  the  Sacraments  to  the  dear 
people  who  had  called  for  him,  consoling  them 
in  their  sufferings  and  strengthening  them  in 
the  hour  of  danger.  Sometimes,  however,  his 
ardent  charity  led  him  to  tarry  too  long,  and 
spied  by  traitors,  he  would  have  to  hurry  through 
the  night  to  his  place  of  concealment,  which  he 
always  succeeded  in  reaching  before  the  detec- 
tives could  get  on  his  track. 

The  nuns  had,  moreover,  taken  every  imagin- 
able precaution  to  conceal  his  presence  in  the 
hospital.  The  priest  usually  occupied  a  room  in 
the  upper  story,  to  which  he  retired  before  the 
dawn  of  day,  to  take  some  rest  after  his  noctur- 
nal labors.  Here  he  also  remained  during  the 
day,  passing  the  time  in  writing  spiritual  exer- 
cises and  the  study  of  theology  and  Holy  Writ ; 


20  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1794- 

and  when  some  unusual  noise  reached  his  ear, 
or  a  sister  advised  him  of  unwonted  danger,  a 
common-looking  clothes-press,  built  against  a 
hollow  wall,  and  communicating  with  it,  afforded 
him  easy  access  to  the  garret,  Avhere  a  recess, 
cunningly  devised  between  two  walls,  concealed 
him  effectually  from  view. 

On  rare  occasions,  when  the  sisters,  who,  owing 
to  the  duties  of  the  hospital  service,  had  a  chance 
to  communicate  with  the  outer  world,  and  hear 
what  was  going  on,  thought  that  there  was  no 
danger  ahead,  the  chaplain  would  take  a  walk 
in  the  hospital  grounds,  but  always  in  disguise. 
Here  also  he  had  a  place  of  concealment,  un- 
known to  the  domestics  of  the  house ;  and,  at  the 
least  sign  of  alarm,  he  retired  to  a  dismal  look- 
ing hen-coop  in  the  farm-yard,  in  which  the  prac- 
ticed eye  of  the  shrewdest  of  detectives  would 
have  failed  to  discover  the  narrow  little  hiding- 
place  which  the  devoted  sisters  had  provided  for 
his  safety. 

However,  Father  Nerinckx  trusted  much  more 
in  Providence  than  in  any  means  which  human 
ingenuity  could  devise  for  his  safeguard.  The 
noble  words  which  later  became  so  familiar  to 
the  destitute  sisters  of  the  primitive  Sisterhood 
of  Loretto,  and  which  the  now  flourishing  mother- 
house  of  the  same  name  treasures  as  a  heirloom, 
transmitting  it  to  the  continually  multiplying 
communities  of  the  society,  were  already,  at  that 
time,  the  ruling  axiom  that  influenced  all  his 
actions :     "Do  not  forsake  Providence  and  He 


1801.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  21 

will  never  forsake  you ! "  And  when  the  honor 
of  God  or  the  good  of  his  neighbor  demanded  it, 
the  undaunted  priest  exposed  himself  to  what 
worldl}^  people  would  call  the  most  unnecessary 
dangers.  One  instance  will  suffice  to  illustrate 
that  so  well-kncwn  trait  of  Father  Nerinckx' 
indomitable  character.  It  was  related  to  us  by 
the  Superior  of  the  hospital  nuns  of  Dender- 
monde,  who  faithfully  transmit,  as  traditions  of 
the  house,  ever}'  little  incident  of  these  seven 
years  which  Mother  Constantia's  nephew  passed 
among  their  sisters. 

Owing  to  some  sudden  danger  of  detection 
whilst  he  was  walking  in  the  garden,  Father  'Nev- 
inckx  had  secreted  himself  in  the  hen-coop,  where 
he  could  hear  all  that  was  going  on  around  him, 
without  being  seen.  He  had  been  there  some 
time,  and  the  servants,  who  were  wholly  ignorant 
of  his  hiding-place,  were  working  in  the  farm-yard, 
when  an  altercation  arose  between  two  of  them, 
and,  in  the  heat  of  the  discussion,  one  of  the  men 
cursed  the  Holy  Ts^'ame  of  God.  The  priest  did 
not  hesitate  a  moment ;  the  words  were  scarcely 
fallen  from  the  lips  of  the  offender,  when  out  he 
came,  to  the  amazement  and  dismay  of  the  domes- 
tics, and  having  administered  a  severe  rebuke 
to  the  guilty  one,  and  expatiated  on  the  great 
offense  which  he  gave  to  God  by  using  such  lan- 
guage, he  told  the  man  to  go  to  the  Superior, 
ask  for  the  wages  due  him,  and  depart.  So 
great  a  horror  had  he  for  sin,  that  he  exposed 
himself  to  almost  certain  death  rather  than  al- 


22  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1794- 

low  a  man  to  blaspheme  God's  name  and  go  un- 
punished. The  man  could  have  followed  the 
promptings  of  his  revengeful  anger  and  betrayed 
him  to  the  authorities ;  but  Father  Nerinckx 
never  stopped  to  think  of  the  risk  he  incurred ; 
he  did  his  duty,  and  trusted  in  a  kindly  Provi- 
dence to  protect  him,  and  his  confidence  was 
never  vain ;  for  although  many  a  time  in  im- 
minent peril  of  his  life,  he  always  succeeded  in 
escaping  the  vigilance  of  the  police. 

Whilst  comparatively  overburdened  with 
night  work,  Father  Nerinckx  could  hardly  at- 
tend to  any  priestly  duty  during  the  day,  owing 
to  the  continually  increasing  danger  of  his  being- 
arrested,  the  gens  d' amies  knowing  his  place  of 
concealment,  and  making  frequent  and  unex- 
pected visits  to  the  hospital.  But  he  was  far 
from  being  idle.  After  the  short  rest  he  al- 
lowed his  fatigued  body  from  the  laborious  du- 
ties of  the  sick  room,  he  spent  the  day  in  writing 
and  in  religious  exercises.  Nor  were  his  studies 
and  prayers  fruitless  for  others.  "Some  idea 
may  be  formed  of  his  close  application,  when  it 
is  stated  that  the  manuscripts  now  in  existence, 
which  he  wrote  while  in  this  retreat,  would,  if 
printed,  form  about  eight  or  ten  octavo  volumes  ; 
they  are  composed  in  Latin,  in  which  he  ex- 
celled, and  contain  treasures  upon  theology,  the 
morals,  discipline,  and  the  history  of  the  church. 
His  friends  have  since  frequently  pressed  him 
to  publish  them,  that  the  world  might  be  bene- 
fited by  his  learning  and  researches,  but  upon 


1801.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  COARLES  NERINCKX.  2S 

this  point  he  was  always  deaf  to  their  entrea- 
ties."* The  results  of  his  labors  would  surely 
have  been  given  to  the  world,  for  the  enlighten- 
ment of  studious  minds  and  the  edification  of 
pious  souls,  had  the  religious  and  zealous  care,, 
with  which  his  spiritual  children  of  Loretto 
guarded  that  precious  legacy  of  their  venerable 
Founder,  been  sufficient  to  rescue  his  books  and 
papers  from  an  act  of  vandalism,  which  it  will 
be  our  painful  but  conscientious  duty  as  an  his- 
torian, to  record  in  the  course  of  this  biography. 
The  only  writings  saved  from  destruction  are  a 
little  Treatise  on  Missio7iaries  and  an  exposition 
of  the  Reign  of  Satan,  edited  by  a  Dominican 
priest,  from  notes  left  by  Father  JN'erinckx,  and 
usually  bound  in  with  the  rather  extravagant 
pamphlet  about  the  Coming  of  Antichrist,  which 
the  Friar  Preacher  inflicted  on  his  friends. f 
They  are  written  in  a  masterly  Latin  style  which 
but  few  modern  authors  have  equaled.  The 
beautiful  Latin  letters  which  the  venerable  mis- 
sionary wrote  to  Archbishop  Carroll,  and  now 
in  the  archives  of  Baltimore,  are  ample  proof 
of  his  ability  in  that  respect,  and  bear  testimony 
to  the  fact  that  he  possessed  the  Holy  Scriptures 
so  thoroughly,  as  to  assimilate  them  at  every 

*  London  Catholic  Miscellany,  April,  1825. 

■j-Cfr.  "Armatura  Dei  in  periculosis  ac  calamitosis  praesertim 
hisce  temporibus  accipienda;  juxta  Rev.  Adm.  Dom.  C.  Ner- 
inckx,  Missionarii  celeberrimi  notas;"  pgg.  72,  and  "Armatura 
Dei  adversus  diaboli  insidias,"  pgg.  36,  printed  in  Mechlin,  1844; 
edited  by  A.  F.  Vandewyer,  M.  D.,  and  later,  0.  P.,  who  resided 
in  Pittsburgh,  in  1836. 


24  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1794- 

line  with  his  own  writing.  His  letters  read  like 
St.  Bernard's  famous  epistles,  and  some  of  them 
are  perfect  literary  as  well  as  spiritual  gems. 

Father  Nerinckx  had  now  acted  as  chaplain 
to  the  hospital  for  four  years,  during  all  of 
which  time  he  carried  his  life  in  his  hands,  bear- 
ing his  persecutions  with  entire  resignation  to 
the  holy  will  of  God,  and  edifying  all  by  the 
practice  of  every  virtue,  when  in  1801,  "  things 
having  apparently  changed,  new  bishops  came 
from  France,  and  a  new  apportionment  of  par- 
ishes was  made.  I  was  nominated  pastor  of  my 
old  place,"  he  writes,  "but  I  refused  the  appoint- 
ment, because  I  was  first  asked  to  comply  with 
certain  conditions,  which  I  looked  upon  as  sus- 
picious and  unsound,  and  which  a  great  many 
other  priests  felt  they  could  not  in  conscience 
comply  with.  As  a  result,  I  am  now  free  from 
all  pastoral  care,  and  pass  my  time,  not  idly,  in- 
deed, but  less  occupied  than  I  wish  to  be,  unless 
God^orders  otherwise."* 

The  clause  which  the  pious  priest  objected  to, 
was,  very  likely,  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the 
new  government,  which  newly  appointed  pastors 
had  to  take  before  a  delegate  of  the  First  Consul. 
Although  accepted,  or  rather  tolerated,  by  his 
Holiness  Pius  YII,  in  the  Concordat  of  1801,  in 
consideration  of  other  clauses  favorable  to  relig- 
ion, that  oath  had  been  looked  upon  with  suspic- 
ion by  those  faithful  priests  who  refused  to  take 

■^"Letter   of  Rev.   Nerinckx  to  Bishop  Carroll  of  Baltimore, 
dated  November  20,  1803.     Baltimore.     MSS. 


1801.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  25 

the  former  unlawful  oath  of  1797,  by  which  they 
were  to  swear  undying  hatred  to  royalty.  The 
Republic  was,  in  their  thoughts,  connected  with 
the  overthrow  of  the  Catholic  Faith ;  and  surely, 
they  could  not  be  blamed  for  refusing  to  perform 
an  act,  the  lawfulness  of  which  they  had  grave 
reasons  to  doubt,-  so  long  as  the  formal  acceptance 
of  it  by  the  Holy  See  was  not  made  known  to 
them  through  a  trustworthy  channel.  Father 
Nerinekx  wrote,  therefore,  to  the  new  Arch- 
bishop of  Mechlin,  thanking  him  for  the  prof- 
ered  promotion,  and,  at  the  same  time,  respect- 
fully exposing  his  reasons  for  not  accepting  it. 
The  Prelate  seems  to  have  respected  his  consci- 
entious scruples,  and  left  him  free  to  go  where- 
ever  his  zeal  might  suggest,  for  he  aj^pointed  an- 
other priest  in  his  stead.* 

*Cfr.      Letter  of  Rev.  Nerinckx  to  Archbishop  Carroll  of  No- 
vember, 1803. 


CHAPTER  III. 

1801-1804. 

#  The  French  Eevolution. — Father  Nerinckx  resolves  to  gO' 

TO  THE  American  missions. — An  account  of  his  vocation. — 
Princess  Gallitzin  recommends  him  to  Bishop  Carroll. — 
She  meets  him  in  Amsterdam. — Annoying  delay. — Father 
Nerinckx  embarks  for  America. — A  floating  hell. 

E-ELiGious  persecution  had  now  lasted  eight 
years.  Direful  for  France  and  its  conquered 
provinces  was  the  tempest  which  had  broken 
forth  in  1793,  with  all  the  seething  fury  which 
thirty  years  of  ill-concealed  agitation,  desj^air- 
ingly  kept  down  with  the  powerless  grasp  of  a 
dying  government,  had  lent  to  the  hideous  mon- 
ster of  the  Revolution.  The  declaration  of  the 
rights  of  man  became  its  code  of  morals,  mur- 
der and  pillage  its  civil  law  ;  and  the  climax  of 
anarchy  was  reached,  when  a  blood-thirsty  mob 
piled  the  tottering  frame  of  a  communistic  re- 
public upon  the  gored  remains  of  the  once  glori- 
ous royalty  of  la  helle  France.  Louis  XYI,  its 
too  good-natured  monarch,  the  enfeebled  personi- 
fication of  ten  centuries  of  Bourbon  and  Capetian 
glory,  carried  with  him  to  the  scaflfold  the  noble 
memories  of  the  most  christian  peoj)le.      With 

(26) 


BOSTON  COLLtuc  u.u..^...^ 
CHESTNUT  HILL.  MASS. 


1801-4.]      LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  27 

the  mangled  corpse  of  the  nation's  murdered 
king,  the  Revolution  buried  the  catholic  annals 
of  the  Gesta  Dei -per  Francos,*  so  nobly  begun  by 
Clodwig  on  the  plains  of  Tolbiac,  and  so  success- 
fully continued  by  his  successors. 

And,  as  the  sturdy  oak,  tottering  under  the  re- 
peated blows  of  the  treacherous  ax,  crushes  in  its 
fall  the  vigorous  saplings  thriving  under  the  pro- 
tecting shade  of  its  leafy  crown,  so  the  old  roy- 
alty of  France  carried  with  it  in  its  ruin  the 
noble  chevaliers  who  owed  to  the  king  their  lus- 
ter, wealth  and  titles,  and  whose  fathers  had 
stood  by  the  throne,  ever  ready  to  defend  it  with 
their  swords  or  protect  it  with  their  shields. 
The  most  noble  houses  of  France  were  shaken 
to  their  very  foundations ;  their  scions  were  ex- 
iled or  decapitated,  and  the  blasphemous  wish 
of  the  ribald  Voltaire  was  well  nigh  carried  out : 
"the  last  nobleman  hung  with  the  entrails  of 
the  last  of  catholic  priests." 

For  the  catholic  priest  was  always  and  every- 
where identified  with  the  party  of  order.  Slan- 
der and  bigotry  may  delight  in  misrepresenting 
him  in  the  eyes  of  the  people,  and  call  him  the 
enemy  of  the  State ;  but,  when  aiming  at  the 
subversion  of  a  government,  the  lawless  rioters 
know  full  well  that  the  priesthood  is  the  main 
bulwark  of  society,  and  their  first  blows  are  di- 
rected against  it.  Nor  was  the  case  altered  in 
this  particular  instance ;  clergymen  were  perse- 
cuted and  hunted  down  with  ferocious  and  dog- 

*God's  works  are  done  by  the  Franks. 


28  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1801- 

ged  tenacity.  Churches  and  sanctuaries  dese- 
crated, altars  leveled  with  the  ground,  convents 
and  monasteries  pillaged  and  sacked ;  such  were 
the  sad  sights  which,  amid  the  smoking  ruins  of 
medieval  castles  and  more  humble  hamlets,  pro- 
claimed to  the  world  the  shame  of  France,  and 
the  fate  that  awaited  countries,  which,  like  Bel- 
gium, had  to  curb  their  neck  under  the  iron  heel 
of  the  murderous  French  Directory. 

Thousands  of  j)riests  were  massacred  or  im- 
prisoned ;  and  such  as  succeeded  in  making  good 
their  escape,  deemed  themselves  happy  to  forego, 
by  a  voluntary  exile  from  their  native  land,  the 
dreaded  transportation  to  the  penal  colonies. 
And  so,  the  loss  of  France  and  Belgium  became 
America's  gain.  To  the  dreadful  calamities  of 
the  church  in  these  countries,  we  owe  a  Flaget, 
a  David,  a  Brute,  a  Dubourg,  the  saintly 
Bishops  and  Patriarchs  of  the  young  American 
Church,  and  the  pioneers  of  christian  civiliza- 
tion in  the  West.  To  the  persecution  of  the 
Catholic  Church  in  the  Old  World,  we  are  in- 
debted for  a  Gallitzin,  a  Richard,  a  Badin,  a 
Nerinckx,  and  so  many  others,  who,  if  not 
clothed  with  the  pur^^le,  because  of  their  humil- 
ity, would  have  honored  it  by  their  virtues,  and 
who  increased  the  sphere  of  their  usefulness  by 
remaining  in  the  comparatively  humble  position 
of  the  missionary  priest,  in  the  beginning  of 
this  century. 

Surrounded  by  continual  perils,  and  unable  to 
foresee  how  long  this  religious  subversion  would 


1804.]  LIFE  OF  EEV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  29 

last,  Father  Nerinckx  began  to  think  seriously 
of  devoting  himself  to  the  missions,  about  the 
year  1800. 

In  his  mind,  there  was  no  vocation  as  sublime 
as  the  one  of  the  Apostolic  ministry ;  and  being 
so  very  humble  that  he  called  himself  "  a  miser- 
able sinner  utterly  incompetent  for  the  mis- 
sions," he  hardly  dared  to  think  that  he  was 
called  to  that  hard  but  glorious  office.  Yet  his 
burning  zeal  for  the  salvation  of  souls  led  him  to 
consult  friends,  and  weigh  their  advice,  whilst 
he  earnestly  considered  before  God  the  qualities 
requisite  for  that  sublime  calling,  and  sought  to 
find  out  the  designs  of  Providence  concerning 
his  future  life.  It  was  during  that  time  he 
wrote  his  little  treatise,  '■'' De  missionariis  selecta 
quaedmn^''''  above  referred  to. 

"My  intention  at  that  time,"  he  writes,  "was 
to  go  to  any  place,  even  among  the  Indians,  where 
it  was  thought  I  could  do  some  good.  Monseigneur 
Ciamberlani,  the  Nuncio  of  the  Pope,  had  of- 
fered me  to  go  to  his  mission,  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope ;  but  he  wanted  me  to  have  a  companion 
of  our  language,  which  I  had  not."  He  may 
also  have  thought  of  joining  the  Rev.  Mr.  Car- 
ron  and  his  own  brother  in  London ;  and  foresee- 
ing that  sooner  or  later  he  would  go  on  the  mis- 
sion, "  because  forced  to  acknowledge  that  God 
favored  his  wishes  better  than  he  ever  dared  to 
expect,"  *  he  applied  to  the  Very  Rev.  DeLandt- 
sheere,  Vicar-general  of  Mechlin,  then  in  prison, 

*  Letter  of  Rev.  C.  Nerinckx,  of  ISIL 


so  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1801- 

for  testimonial  letters,  which  the  confessor  of 
the  faith  willingly  granted,  September  20,  1801, 
and  authenticated  with  the  archiepiscopal  seal. 

Whilst  undecided  where  God  wanted  him,  he 
heard,  in  1802,  of  a  letter  said  to  have  been  writ- 
ten by  Rev.  Stanislaus  Cersonmont  to  his  half- 
brother,  Rev.  Gouppi,  secretary  to  the  Prince 
Bishop  of  Liege.  One  of  his  friends,  aware 
of  his  intention,  j^rocured  him  a  copy  of  the  let- 
ter, dated  July  20,  1801,  at  Conewago,  in  the 
Diocese  of  Baltimore,  where  the  presumed  writer 
was  stationed  as  a  missionary  priest.  The  let- 
ter was  neither  genuine  nor  accurate,  as  Rev. 
Nerinckx  found  out  later,  but  it  exposed  a  true 
want  of  missionary  priests,  and  it  prompted  him 
to  select  the  American  mission  in  preference  to 
any  other.  The  reasons  for  his  choice  are  forci- 
bly set  forth  in  the  following  letter,  addressed 
to  a  former  friend,  and  dated 

"  Holy  Mary's  at  the  Rolling  Fork. 
'■'■  Janua7'y  23,  1806. 
^^  Reverend  and  dear  Friend: 

"  Not  to  be  wanting  to  our  intimate  friendship, 
nor  deserve  the  reproach  of  delay,  or  even  of 
negligence,  in  so  important  a  cause  as  the  honor 
of  God,  the  propagation  of  the  faith,  the  salva- 
tion of  our  neighbor  and  of  our  own  soul,  I  can  not 
help  writing  letter  upon  letter  to  call  with  loud 
cries,  vigorous  laborers  to  one  of  the  most  plenti- 
ful harvests,  and  seek  in  every  direction  whatever 
is  needed  to  labor  there.     We  agreed,  when  we 


1804.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  31 

last  said  farewell,  to  employ  all  our  zeal  to  suc- 
cor, in  person,  our  brethren  in  America,  who  suf- 
fer and  die  of  spiritual  hunger ;  and,  till  that 
end  is  obtained,  to  endeavor  to  secure  the  con- 
currence of  men  better  fitted  than  ourselves  in 
word  and  prayer.  Let  us  keep  our  word.  Let 
us  not  lose  courage,  although  our  first  attempts 
have  not  answered  our  expectations.  Persuade 
the  good  whom  you  find ;  send  the  generous  men 
whom  you  may  convince.  The  plan  to  be 
adopted,  and  the  means  to  be  used,  were  sug- 
gested in  my  letters  last  year.  You  have, 
doubtless,  received  them.  If  the  motives  and 
reasons  which  induced  me  to  undertake  this  voy- 
age can  persuade  others  to  follow,  you  may  sub- 
mit to  them  the  following. 

"  In  accordance  with  the  parable  of  the  Gospel, 

*  I  first  sat  down  and  reckoned  the  charges  that 
were  necessary,'  counting  my  resources  with  the 
utmost  circumspection ;  and  after  repeated  medi- 
tations on  the  subject,  I  found  the  following  mo- 
tives for  setting  out : 

"  1.  The  danger  of  my  own  defection  from  the 
faith,  either  by  being  perverted  or  by  falling 
into  error,  if  I  remained  at  home ;  and  the  al- 
most utter  uselessness  of  my  presence  in  Bel- 
gium in  the  actual  state  of  aifairs. 

"2.  The  not  unreasonable  hope  of  promoting 
the   honor  of  God  under   this  severe   menace: 

*  Woe  to  me  if  I  have  not  preached  the  Gospel.' 

"3.  The  inclination  of  the  American  people 


32  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1801^ 

toward  the  catholic  religion,  and   the  want   of 
priests, 

"4.  The  urgent  opportunity  of  paying  my 
evangelical  debt  of  ten  thousand  talents.  A 
dignified  sinner  in  my  own  land  which  abounds 
in  advantages,  I  almost  despaired  of  doing  real 
penance  and  making  due  satisfaction.  Hence  I 
concluded  that  I  had  to  undertake  unavoidable 
toils  and  sorrows. 

"5.  The  favorable  advice  of  competent  per- 
sons, without  whose  counsel  I  did  not  deem  it 
prudent  to  act. 

"  Such  were  the  principal  motives  of  my  reso- 
lution, and  they  were  strengthened  by  the  fol- 
lowing thoughts  well  suited  to  spur  me  on : 

'•  First.  The  necessity,  especially  for  his  min- 
isters, of  a  lively  and  abiding  faith  in  God. 
The  objects  of  this  faith  were :  1.  The  great- 
ness and  majesty  of  God,  his  domain  over,  and 
right  to,  our  ministry,  and  our  duty  to  serve  him 
everywhere.  '  I  am  thy  servant  and  the  son 
of  thy  handmaid.  All  serve  thee  ;  how  shall  I 
not  serve  thee?'  I  also  considered  the  quite 
incomprehensible  honor  with  which  he  has 
deigned  to  clothe  us  by  introducing  us  into  the 
holy  of  holies,  and  by  ranking  us  with  the  princes 
of  his  people ;  an  honor  which  God  surely  did 
not  confer  upon  us  to  let  us  stand  idle.  2.  The 
labors,  sweat,  and  sorrows  of  Jesus,  our  master, 
in  every  way  so  worthy  of  love,  and  of  his  dis- 
ciples, with  whose  sufferings  we  are  acquainted. 
3.  Soldiers  of  earthly  kings  serve  them  without 


1804]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  SS 

choice,  and  are  forced  to  serve  them  for  a  ration 
of  bread  and  water ;  and  what  trials  do  they  not 
meet  with,  under  how  many  forms  do  they  not 
face  death  without  any  remuneration  ?  Can  it 
then  seem  equitable  for  us  to  shrink  under  any 
pretext  whatever  from  the  sweet  yoke  or  service 
of  the  Lord,  who  holds  out  to  us  so  great  a  re- 
compense ?  4.  True,  there  are  the  dangers  of 
the  sea ;  but  merchants  expose  to  the  same  or 
greater  dangers  their  money,  their  goods,  their 
bodies,  their  souls,  their  families ;  and  yet  when 
they  are  broken  down  and  exhausted  by  la- 
bors, they  still  find  themselves  empty-handed. 

"  Second.  A  firm  hope  of  securing  an  eternal 
reward  for  ourselves,  and  of  procuring  it  to  so 
many  others  whom  we  will  perhaps  lead  back 
from  the  ways  of  error ;  hence  the  hope  of  in- 
creasing thereby  God's  glory,  and  of  obtaining 
from  Him,  who  is  our  stay  and  support,  reason- 
able aid.  The  horror  of  eternal  pains,  which, 
according  to  the  judgment  already  written, 
await  the  wicked  and  slothful  servant,  and  will 
torture  him  forever. 

"  Third.  A  burning  zeal  for  the  salvation  of 
souls,  with  the  assurance  of  Grod's  help,  the  pro- 
tection of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  etc.  St.  Ignatius 
preferred  to  live  in  the  uncertainty  of  his  own 
salvation  and  labor  for  his  neighbor's  soul,  than 
to  die  at  once  with  the  certainty  of  being  saved. 
Aided  by  these  and  kindred  thoughts,  I  felt  aris- 
ing in  me  that  fortitude  which  enabled  me  to 


34  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1801- 

say,  when  the  storm  of  objections  arose,  '  What 
I  have  resolved,  I  have  resolved.' 

"  The  objections  which  I  successively  an- 
.swered,  and  my  replies  to  them,  were  the  follow- 
ing: 

"  First  objection.  You  must  have  a  vocation. 

^^  Reply.  1.  But  it  need  not  be  confirmed  by 
miracles.  2.  I  am  a  priest,  and  it  is  rather  late 
to  raise  doubts  as  to  my  vocation.  Better  exam- 
ine a  vocation  before  ordination,  than  hesitate 
:after  being  initiated  into  the  holy  ministry.  To 
be  a  parish  priest,  with  care  of  souls,  in  Bel- 
gium, requires  a  divine  vocation  just  as  well. 
Comforts  of  life,  affection  for  parents,  love  of 
home,  or  a  clinging  to  one's  native  soil  or  house, 
through  puerile  attachment,  do  not  supply  a 
surer  testimony  in  the  choice  of  a  state  of  life. 
We  have  rarely  heard  the  excuse  of  want  of  vo- 
cation alleged  when  there  was  question  of  ac- 
cepting a  parish.  When  a  rich  benefice  is  va- 
cant, powerful  motives  are  needed,  not  to  induce 
most  men  to  accept,  but  on  the  contrary  to  pre- 
vent men  from  seizing  it.  When  you  can  get  an 
advantageous  position,  you  find  a  vocation 
readily ;  but  when  there  is  question  of  going  to 
undertake  labors  abroad,  vocation  is  doubtful ! 
Moreover,  the  vocation  is  not  wanting  to  him 
who  is  called ;  but,  now  and  then,  the  one  called 
is  unfaithful  to  his  vocation. 

"  Seco7id  objection.  The  faithful  in  Belgium 
also  require  our  help. 

"  Reply.  Only  those  who  choose  to   stand   in 


1801]         LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  35 

need  of  help,  suffer  for  the  want  of  it;  those 
who  choose  to  look  for  it,  can  easily  find  it.  At 
least,  there  is  certainly  more  need  of  our  pres- 
ence in  America,  where  there  are  not  two  priests 
to  a  league,  aye,  where  there  is  not  a  priest  to 
be  found  within  a  hundred  miles,  whilst  the 
Catholics  multiply  in  numbers,  and  the  Word 
sown  there  produces  fruit  a  hundred  fold — that 
Word,  now  so  unpalatable  to  most  Belgians. 

"  TJiird  objection.  The  people  will  perhaps  say, 
'  If  all  the  good  priests  go,  what  will  become  of 
-us?' 

"  Reply.  Who  are  you,  who  suffer  yourself  to 
be  called  good  ?  Only  trust  in  your  vocation, 
expecting  all  from  God's  goodness.  And  even 
so,  neither  should  the  wicked,  who  neglect  seri- 
ous amendment,  leave  their  country  to  go  to 
fields  ripe  for  the  harvest ;  nor  will  all  the  good 
ones  go.  But  if,  by  a  just  judgment  of  God, 
all  the  good  ones  did  go.  He  is  the  Master — let 
Him  do  what  is  good  in  His  sight.  But,  in  the 
meantime,  what  evil  hast  thou  prevented  in  thy 
own  country  ?  What  errors  hast  thou  opposed  ? 
What  corruptions  hast  thou  extirpated  ?  What 
violations  of  the  law  of  God  hast  thou  not  con- 
sented to  ?  etc.,  etc.  Weep,  then,  over  thyself, 
and  take  pity  on  thy  own  soul.  If  apostolic 
men  had  remained  in  their  own  country — and 
their  number  was  small  enough — we  should  not 
have  been  christians  to-day.  Should  we  then 
not  pity  our  brethren  ? 


36  L^FE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [180]- 

^^  Fourth  objection.  We  need  means,  money, 
aptitude. 

"  Bephj.  As  to  means  and  aptitude,  the  judg- 
ment must  be  left  to  prudent  men,  who  do  not 
belong  to  your  family ;  and  who,  although  not 
bound  to  do  the  same,  are  not  over-partial  to 
those  who  are  interested  in  the  matter.  As  to 
money,  God  will  provide  it,  my  son. 

^^  Fifth  ohjection.  Our  parents,  who  need  help 
or  consolation,  will  be  afflicted. 

^'■Reiihj.  Remember  that  the  priest  belongs  to 
the  Lord,  and  not  to  his  own  father.  Assist 
your  parents  as  much  as  you  can,  and  provide 
for  the  future  ;  but  remember,  too,  that  you  must 
be  about  your  heavenly  Father's  business.  As 
to  the  precept  of  leaving  father  and  mother  for 
God's  sake,  examine  the  Scriptures,  the  acts  and 
lives  of  the  Apostles,  and  the  examples  of  the 
Saints. 

"You  see  then,  dear  friend,  what  induced 
me  to  undertake  this  journey.  I  have  never 
yet  repented  coming;  and,  if  any  one  of 
these  motives  can  be  useful  to  another,  I  wil- 
lingly permit  him  to  adopt  them,  and  confirm 
them  by  new  and  better  ones.  There  are,  doubt- 
less, many  stronger  and  more  cogent  reasons. 
But,  as  those  I  have  set  forth  suffice  for  me, 
who  am  so  obtuse,  and  whose  heart  is  so  slow 
and  perverse,  I  do  not  see  why  I  should  insist 
further. 

"  I  commend  myself  earnestly  to  your  prayers, 


1804.]         LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  37 

your  holy  sacrifices   and  other  j^ious  works,  and 
subscribe  myself, 

"Your  very  devoted  servant, 

"  C.  N'eri:n^ckx, 
^''Missionary  in  America y* 

Having  succeeded  in  obtaining  an  interview 
with  his  old  and  tried  friend,  Very  Rev.  De- 
landtsheere,  November  16,  1803,  Father  Ner- 
inckx  laid  his  resolution  before  him,  and  the 
Vicar  General  heartily  indorsed  it,  promising,  at 
the  same  time,  to  write  to  Bishop  Carroll,  of  Bal- 
timore, in  his  behalf.  However,  the  imprisoned 
priest  was  unable  to  fulfill  his  promise ;  for,  on 
the  nineteenth  of  the  same  month,  he  was  hur- 
ried off  to  Paris  by  a  brutal  soldiery,  there  to  be 
tried  and  convicted  for  his  fidelity  to  God  and  to 
His  representative  on  earth. 

Rev.  JSTerinckx  had  hardly  left  the  prison 
which  he  had  visited  in  disguise,  when  suspicions 
about  their  visitor's  real  character  induced  the 
officers  of  the  law  to  follow  him  in  hot  pursuit, 
not  soon  enough,  however,  to  overtake  him. 
Foreseeing  the  result  of  his  bold  adventure, 
Father  Nerinckx  got  them  off  the  track  by  re- 
tiring, for  a  few  days,  to  his  parents'  home  in 
Mnove,  until  the  excitement  would  subside. 

But  he  lost  no  time  ;  from  this  new  place  of 

*We  can  not  vouch  for  the  literal  correctness  of  our  transla- 
tion, not  having  seen  the  original.  It  is  based  on  the  one  given 
b}'  Rev.  Desmet,  S.  J.,  Western  Missions  and  Missionaries,  pgg.  452 
-57. 


38  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERTNCKX.         [1801- 

concealment,  and  without  telling  his  family  any 
thing  about  his  intentions,  he  applied  to  Bishop 
Carroll,  by  letter  of  November  20,  1803,  for 
admission  to  his  diocese.  lie  also  secretly  ad- 
vised his  friend,  Mr.  Peemans,  a  pious  and  es- 
timable merchant  of  Brussels,  of  this  step ;  a 
happy  thought,  inspired,  no  doubt,  into  our  mis- 
sionary by  an  ever-watchful  Providence.  For, 
the  prelates  to  whom  Rev.  Nerinckx  referred  in 
his  letter  of  application,  as  willing  to  testif}^  to 
his  character  and  good  intentions,  viz.:  Cardi- 
nal de  Frankenberg,  Archbishop  of  Mechlin,  and 
Bishop  Yandevelde,  of  Ruremonde,  were  at 
that  time  unable  to  render  him  that  kind  office, 
being  held  in  close  confinement  in  the  dungeons 
of  the  French  Republic.  Bishop  Carroll  might 
have  had  his  misgivings  about  accepting  a 
stranger  among  the  priests  of  his  diocese,  under 
such  unfavorable  circumstances.  But  Mr.  Pee- 
mans, being  a  pious  catholic  and  a  prominent 
man  of  the  Belgian  capital,  corresponded  with 
many  distinguished  persons  attached  to  the 
persecuted  faith,  who  were  able  and  willing  to 
do  some  good  to  proscribed  priests.  He  accord- 
ingly wrote  to  Princess  Gallitzin,  whom  he  had 
frequently  met  during  his  stay  in  the  Nether- 
lands, and  who,  he  knew,  had  a  son,  the  re- 
nowned priest,  Prince  Demetrius  Gallitzin,  on 
the  American  mission.  The  following  extract 
of  a  letter  of  the  Princess  to  Bishop  Carroll, 
dated  Munster,  1803,  tells  the  result : 


]S04.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  39^ 

^^ My  Lord  Bishop: 

"And  now,  Monseigneur, 

I  have  to  speak  to  you  about  a  subject  almost 
as  interesting  to  my  heart  as  that  which  I  just 
treated  [viz.,  the  welfare  of  her  son] ;  it  is  the 
question  of  help  for  your  dear  mission,  which  my 
son  and  yourself,  Monseigneur,  deigned  to  ask 
of  me  for  many  years. 

"  I  always  did  what  was  in  my  power,  Avithout 
being  able  to  find  any  one  whose  honesty  of  pur- 
pose I  could  answer  for,  up  to  this  time,  when, 
by  the  mediation  of  a  friend,  a  priest  as  noted 
for  his  science  as  for  his  virtue,  I  have  found  two 
men  of  great  worth  and  entirely  reliable  :  Mr. 
Nerinckx  and  one  of  his  relations.  The  first, 
lately  a  cure  in  the  Netherlands,  is  preparing  to 
leave  for  Baltimore,  having  already  studied 
some  English,  to  render  himself  useful  to  the 
mission.  He  comes,  highly  recommended  by 
two  persons  of  the  greatest  merit :  Monsieur  de 
Venise,  a  priest,  and  Monsieur  Peemans,  a  busi- 
ness man. 

"  Mr.  Peemans,  a  valiant  catholic,  writes  to 
me,  as  follows  :  '  Mr.  jN'erinckx  was  pastor  un- 
der the  old  order  of  things,  and  would  be  so  to- 
day, if  he  thought  he  could  subscribe  to  all  the 
government  asks  of  him,  without  jeopardizing 
his  soul.  The  Rev.  de  Venise,  who  knows  him 
well,  having  studied  with  him  in  the  Seminary 
of  Mechlin,  testifies  that  he  is  a  first-class  man ; 
that  when  he  was  a  cure  he  was  truly  the  father 


40  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1801- 

of  every  one  of  his  parishioners  ;  that  his  flock 
had  such  a  veneration  for  his  person  that  he  con- 
trolled, so  to  say,  every  household.  He  was  loved 
and  cherished  by  all  the  children,  whom  he  in- 
structed and  guided  as  a  true  missionary.  As 
he  can  not  remain  idle,  he  made  up  his  mind  to 
go  10  Baltimore.  He  is  studying  English  for 
that  jiurpose  ;  and  as  he  may  leave  on  short  no- 
tice— since  I  have  already  made  inquiries  for  a 
good  stopj)ing  place  in  Amsterdam — I  beg  of  you 
to  send  to  Rev.  Beckers,  catholic  priest  in  the 
Krytberg,  on  the  Syngel,  Amsterdam,  the  letters 
of  recommendation  to  his  Lordship  of  Balti- 
more, which  you  destined  for  him,  as  also  your 
errands  for  that  country.  Mr.  Nerinckx  will  l^e 
accompanied  by  one  of  his  kinsmen,  a  pupil  of 
Monsieur  de  Venise,  who  goes  to  America  with 
the  same  sentiments.  He  would  already  have 
been  a  priest,  if,  wdien  he  was  ready,  our  bishops 
had  had  the  power  of  ordaining  priests  for  this 
diocese.  He  will  take  with  him  his  exeat  and 
other  papers  necessary  for  that  purj^ose,  hop- 
ing that  the  Bishop  of  Baltimore  will  ordain 
him ' 

"  Considering  such  respectable  testimonials,  I 
could  not,  Monseigneur,  hesitate  to  present  you, 
Mr.  Nerinckx,  and  that,  with  all  the  greater  as- 
surance, that  if  I  knew  him  personally  I  would 
only  have  my  own  poor  judgment  as  a  guar- 
rantee.     .     . 

"  I    must    end    my   letter,    not    to    run   the 


1801.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  41 

risk  of  not  finding  Mr.  Nerinckx   in   Amster- 
dam. 

"  I  remain,  Monseigneur, 

"Your  most  humble  and  obedient  servant. 

"  Princess  Gallitzin."* 

After  having  given  to  Bishop  Carroll  all  the 
details  about  himself  and  his  family,  narrated  in 
our  first  chapter,  Father  Nerinckx,  speaking  of 
the  spurious  document  attributed  to  Reverend 
Cersonmont,  which  specially  urged  the  want  of 
German  priests  in  America,  concludes  as  fol- 
lows :  "  These  letters,  if  genuine,  ought  to  excite 
any  priest  who  is  free  and  who  has  the  glory  of 
God  and  the  salvation  of  souls  ever  so  little  at 
heart,  to  come  to  you.  And  although  entirely 
unworthy  of  so  noble  a  mission,  although  not  a 
German,  and  speaking  French  very  inaccurately, 
I  have  determined  to  come  to  you,  not,  to  seek 
promotion  or  comfort,  which,  generously  prot- 
ferred  in  my  native  land,  I  refused  without  re- 
gret;  but  that  I  may  save  my  own  soul,  and 
work  a  little  for  the  spiritual  welfare  of  my 
neighbor,  if  my  superiors  deem  proper.  My 
secondary  motive  is  to  encourage  others,-  more 
able  than  I  am,  and  who,  because  of  the  sad 
state  of  religion  in  Belgium,  have  nothing  to  do, 
to  come  also  to  the  missions,  and  there  exercise 
their  well-known  zeal."f 

*  MS8.  letter  in  the  archiepiscopal  archives  of  Baltimore,  Md. 
jAutograph  Latin  letter  of  Rev.  Nerinckx  to  Bishop  Carroll, 
dated  "  Ninove,  in  Flanders,  November  20,  1803." 


42  I^IFE  OF  KEV.  CHARLES  NEKTNCKX.         [1801- 

Bishop  Carroll  received  this  letter  May  31, 
1804,  and  having  subsequently  received  Princess 
Gallitzin's  letter,  he  wrote  to  Father  JSTerinckx 
an  answer — directed,  at  his  request,  to  Mr.  Pro- 
vost, a  rich  Brussels  merchant,  Mey-boom  street, 
No.  1067,  in  order  not  to  set  the  blood-hounds  of 
the  Republic  on  his  track — instructing  him  to 
come  to  America  as  soon  as  possible. 

The  priest's  preparations  were  soon  made. 
Having  left  the  care  of  forwarding  his  luggage- 
to  the  kind  sisters  of  the  hospital  to  which  he 
had  previously  returned,  he  bade  them  a  hasty 
farewell.  On  the  morning  of  "  the  second  day 
of  July,  1804,"  he  writes,  "having  left  my  pa- 
rents and  friends  in  ignorance,  and  without  bid- 
ding them  good-bye,  I  started  from  the  Hospital 
of  Dendermonde,  where,  being  condemned  to  ex- 
ile, I  had  remained  unknown  to  the  world."* 

Father  Nerinckx  left  on  foot  and  without  lug- 
gage, so  as  to  avert  suspicions,  and  not  to  give  a 
scent  to  the  gens  (Varmes  always  on  the  alert 
after  him.  Although  all  alone,  and  in  constant 
danger  of  being  arrested,  he  w^as  in  the  best  of 
humor,  and  arrived  on  the  twelfth  in  Amster- 
dam, wdiere  he  w^as  met  by  Father  Malave,  for- 
merly pastor  of  Jodoigne,  near  Tirlemont.f  A 
letter  to  his  aunt.  Mother  Constantia,  written  on 

*Autogi"iipli  letter  to  Bishop  Carroll,  1811.  Baltimore  Manu- 
scripts. 

f  We  find  no  further  trace  of  Father  Nerinckx'  3'outhful  kins- 
man above  referred  to. 


1S04.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  43; 

the  very  day  of  his  arrival  in  that  city,  tells  us 
how  he  fared  on  the  way : 

"  Amsterdam,  July  12,  1804. 
''''Bear  Aunt  Superioress  and  the  whole  Holy  Com- 
munity : 

"  May  Grod  bless  you  all ! 

"  Thanks  be  to  the  good  God !  I  reached  this 
city,  in  good  health,  to-day  towards  eight  o'clock, 
A.  M.,  after  a  journey  of  nine  days  on  foot  and 
forty-eight  hours  on  the  water.  I  was  all  alone 
on  my  travels,  hence  I  could  not  quarrel  with 
any  body ;  I  had  companions  on  board  the  ship, 
but  they  were  not  of  the  best.  We  had  a  heavy 
wind,  and  made  twenty-six  leagues  in  ten  hours, 
although  the  wind  was  no  wav  favorable.  I  em- 
barked  at  Breda,  and  sailed  by  Willemstad, 
Delft,  Dordrecht,  Rotterdam,  Ley  den  and  Haar- 
lem, and  saw  very  remarkable  views  on  the  way. 
Every  where  I  wonder  at  the  perfectly  incredi- 
ble cleanliness  of  the  churches,  especially  of  the 
catholic  ones. 

"  I  do  not  know  when  I  will  be  able  to  con- 
tinue my  journey.  I  write  this  letter  in  all 
hastB  to  let  you  know  that  I  am  safe,  and  hope 
to  be  able  to  write  more  details  later.  It  may 
be,  however,  that  we  will  not  have  to  wait  long- 
here,  for  there  are  many  occasions  to  sail.  I 
hope  you  are  all  well,  and  that  you  remember 
me  in  your  prayers,  as  I  do  you  in  mine,  al- 
though they  are  poor  prayers  indeed.  G-reet  Mr. 
D'haens  (the  director  of  the  hospital),  for  me. 


44  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHAELES  NERINCKX.         [1801- 

Be  always  very  faithful  to  all  your  spiritual  ex- 
ercises, and,  if  possible,  try  to  improve  upon 
them ;  for  your  good  will  and  zeal  have  to  ob- 
tain your  perseverance.  Remember  that  the  la- 
bor and  sufferings  are  of  short  duration,  and 
that  the  recompense  is  without  end.  If  you 
think  proper  you  can  communicate  this  letter  to 
my  parents  and  friends,  taking  care,  however,  to 
explain  to  them,  why  I  did  not  bid  them  fare- 
well. As  soon  as  I  have  made  all  necessary  ar- 
rangements for  my  departure,  I  will  write  to 
them  myself. 

"  I  hope  you  have  taken  care  of  my  trunks. 
If  you  write,  address :  Mr.  Beckers  op  het  Cin- 
gel  in  den  Krytberg,  Amsterdam  ;*  and  inside : 
for  Mr.  Nerinckx. 

"  God  speed. 

"  C.  ]S'ERIXCKX."t 

In  the  midst  of  all  his  dangers  and  secret  ne- 
gotiations for  a  speedy  embarkation,  he  never 
forgets  his  mission  ;  his  interest  in  the  spiritual 
welfare  of  others  never  flags,  and  he  finds  time 
to  encourage  the  good  hospital  sisters  in  the  prac- 

*"  The  catholic  worship  was  secretly  practiced  in  Holland  until 
the  beginning  of  the  present  century.  The  churches  in  com- 
mercial cities  were  designated  by  names  such  as  those  which 
were  usually  given  to  warehouses  and  taverns.  At  Amsterdam, 
the  catholic  churches  bore  the  titles  of  Pool,  het  Haantje,  de  Pap- 
egaai,  het  Duifke,  de  Poost-Hoorn,  de  Krytberg,  de  Zaayer,  etc.,  instead 
of  those  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  St.  Joseph,  St.  Ann,  St.  Nicholas, 
•etc."      Life  of  Father  Bernard,  by  Rev.  P.  Claessens,  pg.  19. 

f.Autograph  letter  of  Rev.  Nerinckx,  in  the  archives  of  the 
Dendermonde  Hospital. 


1804.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  45 

tice  of  their  devotional  exercises,  and  excite 
them  to  work  perseveringly  for  the  sanctification 
of  their  souls. 

Forced  to  use  the  greatest  precautions  in  pre- 
paring for  his  emigration  to  America,  Father 
Nerinckx  "  suffered  the  most  annoying  delay  of 
a  whole  month -at  an  inn  in  Amsterdam."* 
Whilst  there  he  had  the  good  fortune  of  meet- 
ing the  saintly  Princess  Grallitzin,  who  had  come 
all  the  way  from  Munich  to  meet  him.  She  in- 
trusted to  his  care  a  box  of  goods  and  a  letter  for 
Prince  Demetrius,  her  son,  and  favored  him  with 
the  following  letter  for  Bishop  Carroll : 

"Amsterdam,  July  31,  1804. 
'■'■Monseigneur : 

"As  the  precarious  condition  of  our  property 
does  not  permit  me  to  pass  the  season,  as  usual, 
at  the  baths,  and  as  my  j^hysician,  moreover, 
finds  it  absolutely  necessary  for  my  health  that 
I  should  make  a  carriage  journey  of,  at  least, 
ten  or  twelve  days,  I  chose  coming  to  Amster- 
dam to  see  and  to  speak  with  the  missionaries,  who 
are  to  have  the  honor  of  receiving  your  blessing, 
and  are  to  see  my  dear  son  face   to  face     .     .     . 

"  I  have  found,  independently  of  Mr.  Charles 
Nerinckx,  whom  I  have  already  had  the  honor 
of  announcing  to  you,  in  a  letter  dated  at  Mun- 
ster,  which,  without  doubt,  has  reached  you 
long  before  this,  Mr.  Fran9ois  Malave,  another 
candidate   perfectly   recommended   by   all  that 

^Autograph  of  Rev.  Nerinckx,  1811. 


46  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1801- 

there  is  most  pure  in  Brabant ;  lie  had  come  in- 
tending to  accompany  Mr.  Nerinckx  to  Balti- 
more, to  put  himself  under  your  orders,  but  it 
happened  that  the  Jesuit  Father  Becker,  cure 
here,  authorized  by  the  Father  General,  Gruber, 
to  receive  persons  eligible  for  the  Society,  showed 
him  a  letter  he  had  just  received  from  the 
Father  General,  in  which  it  was  mentioned  that 
you,  Monseigneur,  had  presented  thirteen  of 
your  missionaries  for  admission  into  the  Society 
-of  Jesus.  This  letter,  joined  to  the  representa- 
tions of  Rev.  Father  Halnath,  whom  to  name 
:suffices  to  say  all,  and  who,  it  ma}^  be  remarked, 
in  passing,  had  contributed  no  little  toward  at- 
tracting me  here,  determined  Mr.  Malave  to  com- 
mence by  passing  several  months  at  Duneburg, 
at  the  Jesuit  novitiate,  whence  he  begs  you  to 
have  the  goodness  to  reclaim  him  from  the  Su- 
perior General  Gruber,  as  belonging  to  you,  for 
he  feels  himself  in  the  most  special  manner 
-called  to  America,  and  only  goes  to  Duneburg  in 
order  to  make  himself  more  capable  of  fultilling 
your  orders  and  intentions  in  whatever  you  may 
deign  to  use  him. 

"  You  will  see  in  this,  Monseigneur,  what  he 
has  entreated  me  to  say  to  you — he  is  not  en- 
tirely decided  himself  how  it  will  be — just  as  I 
am  about  leaving  Amsterdam,  where  I  have 
.spent  only  three  days,  for  and  with  the  saintly 
personages  who  drew  me  here — I  have  not  CA^en 
an  entire  sheet  of  paper  at  hand,  but  I  must  still 
Jiiention  to  you,  Monseigneur,  Mr.  Charles  Guny, 


1804.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  47 

cure  near  Brabascon,  who  accompanies  Mr.  Ner- 
inckx  to  Baltimore,  undecided  as  yet  whether 
lie  will  there  join  the  order  of  La  Trappe,  or 
whether  God  will  call  him  to  the  missionary 
life,  for  which  he  now  believes  himself  incap- 
able :  he  has  the  same  recommendations  in  his 
favor,  and  I  do  not  think  he  will  lose  any  thing 
in  your  estimation  by  his  own  opinion  of  him- 
self. 

"  I  venture  to  entreat  you,  Monseigneur,  to 
write  me  a  few  words  concerning  these  earnest 
men,  who  interest  so  many  saintly  souls  here, 
and  whom  I  hope  you  will  like. 

"  I  do  not  speak  of  the  excellent  news  which 
Father  Halnath  brings  us  from  St.  Petersburg, 
whence  he  has  just  returned.  The  bearers  of 
this  letter  will  give  you  all  the  interesting  de- 
tails. God  be  blessed  that  His  mercy  deigns 
thus  to  rej^air  the  losses,  which  we  have  every 
day  in  the  larger  part  of  Europe,  and  to  j^reparc 
us  the  missionaries,  of  which  we  shall  soon  have 
more  need  than  the  countries  beyond  the  sea. 

"  I  am  with  the  most  respectful  attachment, 
"  Monseigneur, 
"Your  most  humble  and  obedient  servant, 

"Augustine's  Mother."* 

Father  IS'erinckx  was  greatly  edified  by  the 
solid  piety  of  the  Princess,  and  had  several  con- 
ferences on  S2:>iritual  subjects  with  her.  Among 
other  sayings  of  hers,  he  alwaj'-s  remembered 

*Life  of  D.  A.  Gallitzin,  by  S.  M.  Brownson,  pgg.  154-6. 


48  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINX'KX.         [1801- 

the  seven  spiritual  pebbles  of  St.  Teresa,  by 
which  to  kill  the  Groliah  of  the  world,  which  he 
sends  to  his  aunt  of  Dendermonde,  and  which 
he  doubtless  often  recalled  in  his  instructions 
for  the  edification  of  his  Loretto  community. 
1.  Let  nothing  trouble  you ;  2.  Let  nothing* 
frighten  you ;  3.  Every  thing  passes  away ;  4. 
God  alone  is  unchangable  ;  5.  You  will  gain  Hira 
by  patience ;  6.  Who  has  God,  wants  nothing ; 
7.  God  alone  is  sufficient. 

Rev.  Nerinckx  finally  succeeded  in  securing 
passage  to  America  aboard  an  old,  rickety  ship, 
and  with  Father  Charles  Guny,  a  Benedictine 
priest,  of  Cambray,  France,  who  afterward 
joined  the  Trappists,  he  embarked  on  the  14th 
of  August,  1804,  leaving  Amsterdam  the  next 
day,  feast  of  the  Assumption  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin  Mary.*  The  A^oyage  lasted  three  months, 
"in  the  midst  of  various  miseries,  and  dangers  of 
all  kinds;"  the  vessel  was  often  in  imminent 
danger  of  foundering  at  sea,  and  to  add  to  the 
distress  of  our  passengers,  a  contagious  disease 
carried  off  forty-two  of  their  number.  Still,  the 
crew  was  not  chastened  by  the  rod  of  affliction, 
and,  the  pious  Father  N'erinckx,  speaking  of 
the  irreligion  and  immorality  which  reigned 
aboard  this  vessel,  used  to  call  it  "a  floating  hell." 
He  was  wont  to  ascribe  his  preservation  from 
shipwreck  to  a  special  interposition  of  Divine 
Providence. 

"  We  arrived  in  Baltimore,"  he  wrote  in  1811,. 

*  Autograph  letters  of  Rev.  Nerinckx  of  1811  and  1824. 


1804.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  4^ 

"the  14th  of  November,  and  were  kindly  re- 
ceived by  Bishop  Carroll.  I  remained  a  month 
in  the  maritime  city  of  Baltimore  ;  thence,  I  was 
sent  to  Greorgetown,  where  I  was  entertained  by 
the  Right  Rev.  Leonard  ISTeale  with  generous 
hospitality,  in  the  College  of  the  Jesuits,  for  a 
period  of  four  months." 


CHAPTER  IV. 

1804-1805. 

Father  Nerinckx  appointed  for  Kentucky. — "Again  a  school- 
boy"   AT    Georgetown. — His    humility. — Mademoiselle    de  la 

ROCHEFOUCAULT     AND     THE     FrENCH     AMBASSADOR. — ViSIT     OF     THE 

Tbappist  PRIOR. — Father  Nerinckx  prepares  for  his  western 
MISSION. — His  arrival  in  Kentucky. 

Bishop  Careoll  received  the  exiles  with  open 
arms,  and  was  not  slow  in  discovering  the  in- 
trinsic worth  of  the  hardy  Flemish  priest. 
Father  Nerinckx  was  forty-three  years  of  age 
when  he  entered  upon  his  missionary  career; 
and  he  brought  to  it,  with  the  experienced  skill 
which  twenty  years  of  arduous  ministry,  spirit- 
ual direction  and  mental  suffering  had  given 
him,  all  the  fervor  of  youth.  Of  austere  virtue, 
tempered  with  the  sweetest  charity,  shining  out 
of  his  rugged  countenance  ;  of  an  iron  constitu- 
tion and  herculean  strength ;  of  the  most  pro- 
found humility,  which  thorough  theological 
learning  made  all  the  more  conspicuous ;  he  was 
the  very  man  whom  the  Bishop  of  Baltimore 
wanted  for  the  abandoned  mission  of  Kentucky, 
where  Father  Badin  was  roaming  about  in  the 
most  forlorn  condition,  and  which  no  one  else 

(50) 


1804-5.]      LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  51 

wished,  or  was  indeed  willing,  to  accept.  The 
"solicitude  of  all  the  churches"  kept  the  Patri- 
arch of  the  American  Church  in  continual  dread, 
lest  even  the  most  distant  regions  of  his  diocese 
should  suffer  for  the  want  of  priests.  To  supply 
them  all  with  pious  and  zealous  workmen,  ob- 
tained from  Catholic  Europe,  was  the  constant 
aim  of  his  heroic  endeavors ;  and  in  this  the 
Prelate  succeeded  beyond  all  human  expecta- 
tions. Had  he  sent  to  the  church  of  Kentucky 
no  other  missionary  but  Father  Nerinckx,  it 
would  still  have  ample  reason  to  be  forever  grate- 
ful to  him.  The  rugged  and  austere  priest  was 
a  real  treasure  to  the  poor  and  laborious  Ken- 
tucky mission,  and  Bishop  Carroll  fully  appre- 
ciated his  worth.  During  the  short  acquaint- 
ance of  one  month,  which  he  had  with  our  mis- 
sionary, he  conceived  a  great  esteem  and  vene- 
ration for  his  virtue,  of  which  their  frequent  cor- 
respondence of  later  years  gives  ample  proof. 
He  never  decided  on  any  measure  of  importance 
bearing  on  the  future  usefulness  of  the  western 
missions,  without  having  previously  consulted 
him,  and  he  often  followed  his  advice. 

The  abandoned  state  of  the  Kentucky  mission, 
its  hardships  and  poverty,  were  the  strongest  in- 
centives which  Bishop  Carroll  could  throw  in  the 
way  of  Father  Nerinckx,  who  eagerly  accepted 
the  proffered  appointment.  He  joj^fully  sped  to 
Georgetown  College,  whither  the  Prelate  sent 
him  to  fit  himself  for  his  new  duties,  by  acquir- 
ing  a  practical  knowledge  of  the  English  Ian- 


52  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1801- 

guage,  which  he  had  been  studying  with  no 
great  facilities  and  very  little  success  during  the 
last  two  years  of  his  forced  retirement  in  Flan- 
ders. Being  of  a  very  buoyant  disposition,  he 
went  at  it  with  all  the  ardor  of  youth,  and  he 
playfully  states,  in  a  letter  to  his  aunt  of  the 
Dendermonde  hospital :  "I  am  again  a  school- 
boy, learning  how  to  speak,  read  and  write ;  no 
holidays ;  and  it  will  take  a  long  time  before  I 
can  spell ;  of  course,  I  pray  for  you :  but,  alas, 
I  am  even  less  proficient  in  spiritual  matters 
than  in  the  English  language."  In  his  humility, 
he  soon  began  to  doubt  whether  he  had  not  pre- 
sumed too  much  on  his  abilities  ;  and  a  few  days 
after  his  arrival  at  the  college,  December  7,  1804, 
he  writes  to  Bishop  Carroll  to  whom  he  had 
"  confided  his  whole  being  and  his  temporal  and 
spiritual  welfare,"  a  letter  in  which,  after  thank- 
ing the  Prelate  for  having  sent  him  to  so  good 
an  institution  where  he  was  treated  with  the 
greatest  kindness,  he  says:  "With  regard  to 
the  English  language,  if  there  is  any  hope  of 
progress,  I  am  afraid  it  will  be  little  indeed ;  for, 
besides  my  own  mediocrity,  which  is  a  great 
drawback,  the  professors  have  so  much  to  attend 
to,  that  I  do  not  dare  to  trouble  them,  when  they 
have  a  little  free  time,  for  some  rules  of  pro- 
nunciation, or  ask  them  to  correct  me  when 
reading.  Left  entirely  to  myself,  I  try  to  learn 
the  best  I  can,  and  to  recollect  what  I  hear ;  but 
I  am  getting  old,  and  want  of  early  practice 
tells  on  me.     I  therefore  earnestly  beseech  your 


1805.]         LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  53 

Lordship  to  judge  witli  all  the  severity  you 
deem  proper  and  with  your  usual  wisdom, 
whether  there  is  any  hope  of  my  being  of  any 
use,  and  not  to  dread  to  tell  me  so,  if  you  think 
there  is  none ;  for  I  have  firmly  resolved,  if  al- 
lowed, to  consider  you  in  all  things  as  a  tutor 
and  a  father  .  -.  ."  Humble  man!  he  who  is 
to  be  such  a  worthy  instrument  for  untold-of  good 
in  the  hands  of  God,  is  afraid  he  is  of  no  use ! 

The  Poor  Clares,  living  on  Lafayette  street, 
Georgetown,  where  they  struggled  against  pov- 
erty and  hunger  by  keeping  school,  having  heard 
of  the  arrival  of  a  new  missionary,  who,  like 
themselves,  had  been  driven  from  home  by  the 
horrors  of  the  French  Revolution,  manifested  to 
Bishop  IN^eale,  their  ecclesiastical  superior,  a 
great  desire  of  seeing  Father  Nerinckx.  He, 
therefore,  visited  them,  and  in  a  letter  to  his 
aunt  of  Dendermonde,  dated  January  12,  1805, 
he  relates  the  following  incident  of  his  visit: 
"  The  Superior  of  the  Poor  Clares,  of  Tours,  died 
here  a  few  days  ago,  much  esteemed  for  her 
piety.  Among  the  sisters  of  this  community  is 
the  niece  of  the  two  illustrious  Brothers  de  la 
Rochefoucault,*  martyred  in  Paris  during  the 
late  revolution.  In  a  conversation  I  had  with 
her,  she  related  to  me  that,  a  short  time  ago, 
the  French  ambassador  paid  her  a  visit,  and  of- 

*  Celeste  la  Blonde  de  la  Rochefoucault  succeeded  Marie  de 
la  Marche  the  former  abbess,  in  1805;  sold  the  convent  to 
Bishop  Neale,  by  deed  of  June  29,  1805,  and  returned  to  Europe 
with  her  companion,  Sr.  de  St.  Luc,  the  same  year. 


54  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1804- 

fered  her  his  kind  services,  stating  that  several 
ladies  of  her  noble  and  respected  family  were 
among  the  Ladies  of  Honor  to  the  new  Empress 
of  France,  and  that,  being  young,  the  same 
honor  might  yet  be  in  store  for  her.  The  worthy 
nun  was  soon  tired  of  his  empty  talk,  and,  not 
less  quick  of  tongue  than  noble  of  race,  she  gave 
him  one  of  the  wittiest  and  most  cutting  replies- 
it  ever  was  my  luck  to  listen  to."  For  fear  of 
his  letter  falling  into  the  hands  of  officials  of  the 
Imperial  Government,  Father  IN^erinckx  with- 
holds it,  but  states  that  when,  toward  the  close 
of  the  interview,  the  ambassador  remarked 
that  he  would  try  to  live  as  long  as  he  could, 
she  dismissed  him  with  the  final  remark,  that  he 
had  to  exert  himself  very  much  indeed  to  live  a 
great  while  longer,  since,  "  les  marguerites  du 
cimetiere," — the  grave-yard  flowers  (meaning 
his  gray  hairs) — were  already  growing  on  his- 
head. 

About  a  month  later,  the  Rev.  Father  Urban 
Guillet,  Superior  of  the  Trappists  of  Pigeon 
Hills,*  near  Conewago,  Pennsylvania,  visited 
Georgetown  on  his  return  from  Kentucky, 
whither  he  had  been  to  select  a  more  secluded 
and  solitary  spot  for  the  establishment  of  his 
abbey.  This  naturally  led  Father  Nerinckx  ta 
inquire  into  the  state  of  his  intended  mission  ; 
and  having  previously  received  a  few  lines  of  en- 

*They  had  arrived  at  Baltimore  a  few  months  before  Rev. 
Nerinckx,  and  settled  at  the  Pigeon  Hills,  August  15,  1804,  re- 
maining there  about  a  year. 


1805.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERIXCKX.  55 

couragement  from  Bishop  Carroll,  he  sent  him, 
by  the  Rev.  Prior,  the  following  letter,  full  of 
practical  wisdom  and  priestly  humility : 

"  Georgetown,  February  14,  1805- 
'' Bight  Bev.  Sir: 

"  I  would  deem  it  wrong  to  neglect  the  favor- 
able opportunity  of  the  Rev.  bearer's  visit  to 
your  Lordship,  to  write  you  a  few  words,  hav- 
ing placed  my  future  into  your  hands,  and  know- 
ing to  whom  I  have  intrusted  that  which  I  have 
committed  to  him  in  the  name  of  the  Lord. 

"Spring  is  at  the  door,  and  I  understand  from 
the  remarks  of  the  Rev.  Father  Prior  of  the 
Trappists,  that  the  way  by  water,  which  he  says 
to  be  by  far  the  best,  will  be  closed  before  June, 
owing  to  the  scarcity  of  water  in  the  Ohio  river. 
Since  it  has  so  pleased  your  Lordship  to  appoint 
me  to  the  Kentucky  mission,  I  might  go  in  com- 
pany with  the  Trappist  Fathers,  under  such  con- 
ditions as  you  might  agree  upon  with  the  Rev. 
Prior,  for  I  would  like  to  take  two  trunks  along. 
When  the  Trappists  are  ready,  and  it  seems 
they  will  be  in  March,  I  would  like  to  be  noti- 
fied, so  that  I  may  call  at  Baltimore  on  my  way 
to  join  them;  unless  your  Lordship  thinks 
proper  not  to  send  me  on  the  mission,  either 
because  of  my  ignorance  of  the  English  lan- 
guage, or  for  other  reasons  known  to  you.  For 
I  confess  openly,  that  I  make  little  progress  in 
the  language,  since,  besides  the  lack  of  practice, 
for  which  there  is  hardly  a  chance  here,  I  seem 


56  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1804- 

not  to  have  sufficient  aptitude  to  understand  the 
English  easily  and  speak  it  correctly.  Of 
course,  I  know  I  can  not  try  to  be  eloquent, 
which  I  was  not  even  in  my  native  tongue,  and 
I  think  I  need  not.  If,  however,  although  defi- 
cient in  speech,  I  am  sent  because  of  the  great 
w^ants  of  the  peojile  and  the  lack  of  other  priests, 
a  statement  which  I  found  in  the  letters  of  St. 
Francis  Xavier,  will  be  a  consolation  to  me: 
'  none  of  us  know  the  Japanese  language,  never- 
theless, by  reading  that  half  Japanese  volume, 
we  brought  many  over  to  the  religion  of  Christ.' 
Surely,  sinner  as  I  am,  I  would  not  dare  to  ex- 
pect such,  evidently,  supernatural  help;  but  I 
despair  not  of  the  benevolent  and  powerful  in- 
tercession of  my  patron  saint,  so  dear  to  God 
and  men,  if  the  will  of  the  Lord  is  manifest  that 
I  should  work  in  some  part  of  his  vineyard  or  be 
of  some  use  to  his  laborers,  a  thing  which  (I 
hope  it  ardently,  and  it  is  the  only  consolation 
of  my  troubled  heart),  I  will  know  by  the  oracle 
of  your  word. 

"  Since,  besides  the  Trappists,  the  Dominicans 
are  also  going  to  that  region,  and  intend  to  leave 
soon,  the  number  of  priests  will  perhaps  be  in- 
creased so  much  there,  that  they  will  stand  in 
very  little  need  of  my  poor  help,  in  which  case 
your  Lordship  may  dispose  of  me  as  you  see  fit. 
I  would  deem  it  not  to  be  less  foolish  than  sin- 
ful to  oifer  myself,  or  to  urge  my  being  sent 
there  ;  but  if  God  calls  and  orders  me,  I  con- 
sider :    1.  The  urgent  necessity  of  the  faithful ; 


1805.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  57 

2.  The  present  favorable  opportunity  for  travel, 
which  it  seems  is  going  to  last  only  till 
June;  3.  My  desire  to  improve  in  English 
by  a  more  frequent  use  of  it;  4.  My  earnest 
wish  to  send  some  definite  news  to  my  country- 
men, who  are  perhaps  burning  with  zeal  for  the 
salvation  of  their  neighbor,  and  whose  fervor 
might  flag  and  be  extinguished  by  too  long  a  de- 
lay. I  might  also  add  that  several  families  of 
this  and  other  congregations,  having  heard,  I  do 
not  know  how,  that  I  was  destined  for  the  Ken- 
tucky mission,  are  preparing  to  leave  for  that 
region,  and  are,  I  understand,  anxiously  inquir- 
ing where  I  will  be  stationed,  desiring,  no  doubt, 
to  live  near  the  priest. 

"  It  being  a  thing  of  daily  occurrence,  that  the 
devil,  hater  of  all  good,  resists  and  harms  with 
all  the  power  and  fraud  at  his  command,  the  dif- 
fusion of  the  Gospel  by  jealousies  and  other 
miseries  of  that  kind,  I  earnestly  desire  to  take 
along,  determinate  in  writing,  all  that  relates  to 
jurisdiction,  to  rights,  to  limits,  and  all  things 
open  to  the  danger  of  dissension  ;  this  will,  more- 
over, in  my  opinion,  help  a  great  deal  to  peace 
of  conscience.  I  would  like  to  divide  the  mis- 
sion intrusted  to  my  care,  as  I  formerly  did  my 
parish,  with  the  most  consoling  and  satisfactory 
results,  into  different  districts,  with  a  view  to  the 
easier  and  more  thorough  instruction  of  the  set- 
tlers ;  and,  with  the  grace  of  God,  I  will  devote 
myself  to  the  utmost  of  my  powers,  to  the  good 
of  my  flock,  visiting,  helping,  and  guiding  them. 


58  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1804- 

That  I  may  effect  this  the  more  readily,  I  have 
thought  proper  to  ask  the  faculties  mentioned  in 
the  following  schedule  (our  President  tells  me 
that  I  can  easily  obtain  these  spiritual  favors), 
viz.:  1.  To  introduce  the  devotion  of  the  per- 
petual adoration  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament;  2. 
To  establish  the  confraternities  of  the  Holy 
Name  of  Jesus,  of  the  Holy  Rosary,  of  the  Souls 
in  Purgatory,  or  any  other,  if  deemed  advisable, 
in  every  congregation  of  at  least  twenty-five 
communicants ;  that  is,  two  of  these  societies  in 
each,  the  favors  to  be  gained  on  two  Sundays  of 
each  month ;  3.  To  grant,  to  those  who  teach 
catechism,  the  indulgences  granted  by  the  Popes- 
to  the  societies  instituted  for  that  end. 

"  You  will  please  remember.  Right  Rev.  Sir, 
that  I  have  brought  nothing  from  the  old  country 
but  a  silver  chalice,  and  I  am  informed  by  the 
Trappists,  that  the  region  I  am  sent  to  is  en- 
tirely destitute,  or  almost  so,  of  sacred  vest- 
ments ;  also,  that  it  is  very  difficult  to  get  Mass- 
wine.  They  intend  to  take  along  from  Balti- 
more a  barrel  of  Mass-wine,  and  it  will,  perhaps, 
be  necessary  for  me  to  do  the  same.  I  can  get 
neither  Ritual  nor  books  here ;  hence,  let  not  your 
Lordship  take  it  amiss,  if  I  ask  of  your  zeal  and 
piety  to  provide  me  with  them,  if  at  all  possible ; 
so  that,  going  forth  totally  unarmed  and  unfit  to 
fio-ht  the  hard  battles  of  the  Lord,  I  be  not  en- 
tirely  without  the  efficient  aid  of  catechisms  and 
pious  books. 

"  I  think  there  will  be  sufficient  money  sent 


1805.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  ?sERINCKX.  5^ 

from  Kentucky  to  jmy  my  way  thither,  since  its 
use  may  be  conceded  to  me,  considering  my  pov- 
erty.  Before  my  affairs  are  definitely  settled  in 
Belgium,  I  would  not  dare  to  use  the  little  sum 
given  me  for  specific  j^urposes,  except  in  a  grave 
necessity.  For  the  rest,  I  will,  God  helping  me, 
try  to  seek  his  kingdom,  less  solicitous  for  the 
things  to  be  added.  May  God  spare  me  and 
those  in  power  at  the  awful  judgment  day ! 

"  This  is  all  I  desired  to  submit  to  your  Lord- 
ship's consideration.  The  bearer.  Rev.  Father 
Prior,  and  our  President,  who  intends  also  to 
travel  through  Kentucky,  will,  I  think,  add 
something  by  word  of  mouth  .  .  . 
"  Your  Lordship's  obedient  and  humble  servant, 

"  C.  T^ERINCKX." 

"P.  S.  Whatever  you  destine  forme.  Rev. 
Blosius,  who  took  upon  himself  to  j)repare  my 
trunks,  will  take  care  of." 

The  encouraging  reply  of  Bishop  Carroll,  con- 
firming the  previous  appointment,  and  instruct- 
ing him  to  be  ready  within  a  month's  time,  dis- 
pelled all  further  doubts  from  the  mind  of  the 
humble  priest.  What  little  money  he  possessed 
had  to  defray  the  traveling  expenses  of  a  three 
months'  journey,  and  complete  the  little  store  of 
indispensable  articles  which  the  charitable  en- 
deavors of  his  Baltimore  friends  could  not  en- 
tirely provide. 

Father  Xerinckx  describes  the  incidents  of  his 
journey  to  Kentucky  in  the  following  letter  to- 


60  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  KERINCKX.         [1804- 

his  parents,*  dated  May  6,  1806:  "I  left 
Georgetown  College,  the  week  before  Pentecost. 
The  next  morning  I  arrived  in  Baltimore,  where 
I  remained  two  days  to  receive  Bishop  Carroll's 
instructions  and  blessing.  Thence  I  traveled  in 
a  wagon  belonging  to  the  Trappist  Fathers  to 
Conewago  (Adams  county),  Pennsylvania,  fifty 
miles  from  Baltimore,  where  these  Religious 
have  their  convent.  A  beautiful  chapel  has 
been  built  in  the  neighborhood  by  a  Jesuit 
Father,  and  in  the  pastoral  residence  I  found  a 
precious  library  of  Flemish  and  Dutch  books 
left  by  a  Franciscan  missionary  of  Liege  who 
had  resided  here.f  The  two  resident  priests 
who  take  care  of  the  Conewago  mission,  received 
me  with  great  kindness.  They  are  both  secular 
priests ;  Rev.  Bart,  a  Frenchman,  has  spent 
fourteen  years  -in  the  American  mission :  Rev. 
Merkx  is  a  Luxemburger;  they  minister  to 
about  two  thousand  catholics,  most  of  whom 
speak  German  but  understand  and  speak 
English  as  well.  I  remained  with  them  during 
Pentecost  week  and  helped  them  in  the  Confes- 
sional;  I  also  attended  a  neighboring  town  of 
about  one  hundred  and  twenty  families  called 
Hanover,  and  said  Mass  for  the  seven  or  eight 
catholic  families  residing  there.  Flere  I  made 
my  first  attempt  at  an  English  sermon ;  you  can 
imagine  how  I  expressed  myself!      I  managed, 

*MS.    letter  in   the  library  of  the  Bollandist  Fathers,  S.  J. 
Brussels,  Belgium. 

f  Probably  Rev.  Stanislaus  Cersonmont.     See  page  30. 


1805.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  61 

however,    to   say   what   I    intended   to  say  and 
bring  it  to  a  close. 

"  The  following  Monday,  being  the  10th  of  June, 
I  left  Conewago  with  the  whole  Trappist  com- 
munity ;  Rev.  Mr.  Bart  accompanied  me  a  dis- 
tance of  fourteen  miles,  and  forced  me  to  accept 
four  pair  of  stockings,  some  underclothing,  and  a 
handkerchief.  The  caravan  consisted  of  thirty- 
seven  persons,  seven  or  eight  of  whom  were 
priests,  among  them  my  traveling  companion  on 
the  sea.  Father  Charles  Guny,  who  is  in  excellent 
health  and  spirits.  We  lived  a  la  Trappiste :  bread 
and  butter  (the  latter  allowed  because  we  were 
traveling),  was  our  only  food;  water,  our  only 
drink ;  we  invariably  lodged  in  barns,  which  differ 
but  little  from  the  public  inn  known  as  the  '  Blue 
Heavens.'  The  monks  never  spoke  ;  however, 
they  prayed  aloud,  and  they  were  allowed  to 
talk  to  me  ;  but  as  we  had  nothing  to  talk  about, 
they  scarcely  availed  themselves  of  the  permis- 
sion. We  traveled  until  late  in  the  night,  and 
were  awakened  about  four  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing, when  I  usually  set  out  ahead  of  the  party, 
to  escape  the  midday's  march  in  the  scorching 
heat  of  the  sun,  and  to  think  of  my  own  spiritual 
concerns.  I  would  never  have  tired  of  that  com- 
pany, had  not  their  four  wagons  made  our  pro- 
gress so  exceedingly  slow,  that  I  thought  my- 
self in  duty  bound  to  follow  Bishop  Carroll's 
advice  to  push  ahead  if,  as  he  foresaw,  the  Trap- 
pist party  traveled  too  leisurely.  Shortly  after  I 
had  made  up  my  mind  to  strike  out  for  myself, 


62  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1804- 

their  wagon  broke  down.  After  having  waited 
for  them  a  day  and  a  half  in  Bedford,*  I  bought 
a  horse  with  saddle  and  bridle  for  $75,  and  started 
alone,  in  God's  name,  through  the  lonely  half- 
cleared  woodlands  of  the  State  of  Ohio. 

"  I  must  have  made  fifty  miles  a  day  for  about 
ten  days.  Within  thirty  miles  from  Charlesbor- 
ough^  a  woman  rushed  toward  me  out  of  the  woods, 
thinking  I  was  a  protestant  minister.  When  I 
informed  her  that  I  was  a  catholic  priest  she 
w^ept  for  joy,  and  entreated  me  to  stop  at  her 
house,  as  she  was  a  catholic  herself,  and  had  not 
seen  a  priest  for  four  years.  I  there  learned 
that  several  other  catholic  families,  all  of  whom 
feared  they  would  have  to  die  without  the  con- 
solation of  receiving  the  rites  of  the  church, 
lived  in  the  neighborhood ;  that  some  were  scat- 
tered in  the  woods,  but  had,  through  human  re- 
spect or  other  reasons,  given  up  all  practices  of 
religion. 

"  I  arrived  at  the  house  of  Rev.  Badin,  the 
center  of  the  Catholics  of  Kentucky,  on  the  18th 
of  July." 

The  Rev.  Stej^hen  Theodore  Badin  was  at  that 
time,  1805,  the  only  resident  priest  of  Kentucky ; 
the  Trappists  arrived  only  in  the  fall  of  the 
same  year. 

Here,  then,  was  to  be  the  field  of  Father  IN'er- 
inckx'  usefulness.  What  was  that  foreigner, 
who,  to  use  his  own  words,  "had  scarcely  picked 
up  a  few  words  of  English,  and  always  spoke  it 

*A  town  where  the  house  of  an  Indian  chief  still  exists." 


1805.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  63 

badly  and  barbarously,"  who  entreated  his 
Bishop,  "  not  to  dread  to  tell  him  plainly  that 
he  was  of  no  use  on  the  mission,  since  he  him- 
self thought  so," — what  was  that  foreigner  going 
to  do  in  this  field  of  labor,  it  being  one  of  the  most 
extensive  and  the  most  thoroughly  English  mis- 
sions on  the  Am'erican  continent  ?  Would  not 
the  people  render  the  verdict  against  him,  which 
the  kind-hearted  Bishop  had  refused  to  pro- 
nounce ?  Would  he  be  of  any  use  ?  His  works 
will  answer. 

Before  we  begin  the  description  of  his  mission- 
ary labors,  let  us  take  a  rapid  survey  of  the 
early  missions  of  Kentucky. 


CHAPTER  V. 

1672-1805. 

Early  Kentucky  history. — The  Shawnees. — Virginia  explorers. — 
Catholic  settlers  from  Maryland. — The  league  of  sixty  cath- 
olic FAMILIES. — Father  Whelan. — The  first  catholic  church  in 
Kentucky. — Father  Badin. — St.  Ann's  church. — Other  Mission- 
aries.— Father  Nerinckx. 

Kentucky  must  have  changed  hands  more 
than  once  during  the  early  days,  when  Indians 
Avere  the  only  claimants  to  light  for  the  posses- 
sion of  that  beautiful  country. 

Most  authors  agree  that  it  was  a  kind  of  neu- 
tral territory,  or  rather,  a  region,  for  the  exclus- 
ive ownership  of  which  many  of  the  savage 
tribes  long  waged  war.  As  such,  it  became,  as 
has  been  the  case  among  thoimore  civilized  na- 
tions of  the  European  world,  tiie  theater  of  many 
a  bloody  conflict,  which  merited  for  this  Indian 
battle-ground,  the  awe-inspiring  name  of  the 
"  Dark  and  Bloody  Ground."  As  early,  however, 
as  1672,  the  Shawnees  or  Skoivmwes,  a  tribe  be- 
longing originally  to  the  Algonquin-Lenape  na- 
tion, after  having  been  driven  from  Eastern 
Pennsylvania  and  the  southern  shore  of  Lake 
Erie  by  the  warlike  Iroquois,  took  possession  of 

(G4) 


1672]  LIFE  OF  EEV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  65 

Kentucky,  where  Father  Marquette  found  them 
in  1673,  on  his  journey  of  discovery  down  the 
Mississippi.     "We   arrived,"  he  says,   "at  the 
OuahousJiir/ou*    This  river  comes  from  the  lands- 
of    the   East,    where   dwell  the    people    called 
Chuouanons   [Shawnees],  in   so   great   numbers,, 
that  in  a   quarte'r  of  a  day  we  counted  twenty- 
three  villages,  and  fifteen  in  another,  all  verjr 
near   to    each    other.     They  are  not   a  warlike 
people :  these  are  the  tribes  which  the  Iroquois 
are    constantly   pursuing   to  wage  war   against 
them   and   without   any  reason;    because  these 
poor  people  can  not  defend  themselves,  they  al- 
low themselves  to  be  taken  prisoners  and  be  led 
away  like  sheep ;  and,  however  inoffensive,  they 
can  not  but  resent  the  barbarity  of  the  Iroquois 
who  even  cruelly  burn  them."f     On  the  map  ac- 
companying the  account  of  this  journey.  Father 
Marquette  marks  the  Shawnee  village  south  of 
the    Ohio   and   east    of  the   Mississippi  rivers. 
His  report  of  the  situation  of  the  Shawnee  tribe 
is  corroborated   by  Father  Gravier's   narrative 
of   his   own  journey   down   the   Mississippi   in 
1700,  written  February  16,  1701,  in  which  he 
states  that  the  third  river  (meaning  the  Tennes- 

*Later  known  as  the  Oubache  :  La  belle  Biviere  of  the  French, 
now  called  the  Ohio  river.  The  northern  affluent  retained  the 
original  name  Americanized  into  the  Wabash  river  of  to-day. 

fCfr.  "  Voyage  et  decouverte,  etc.,  par  le  P.  Marquette  et  Sr. 
Joliet,  a  Paris,  chez  Estienne  Michalet,  rue  S.  Jaques,  a  1' Image 
de  S.  Paul,  MDC  LXXXI.  0.  Rich's  reprint,  1845."  Page 
32,  sq. 


<QS  LIFE  OF  KEV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1672- 

see),  swelling  the  waters  of  the  Ouahachi  comes 
from  the  S.  S.  W.,  on  which  are  the  Chaouanoua.* 

The  fierce  Iroquois  continued  to  make  war  on 
this  innocent  and  gentle  race,  until,  in  the  begin- 
ning of  the  eighteenth  century,  the  confederacy 
of  the  Six  Nations  claimed  the  ownership  of 
Xentucky,  by  right  of  conquest.  It  w^as  only  at 
the  conclusion  of  the  Franco-British  war  of  1755 
-1763,  that  they  practically  relinquished  their 
claim  to  Kentucky.  The  Cherokees  sold  their 
right  to  the  soil  south  of  the  Kentucky  river,  in 
1775,  to  Colonel  Henderson  in  consideration  of 
£10,000;  and  although  the  legislature  of  Vir- 
ginia set  this  treaty  aside,  it  assigned  ample  ter- 
ritory to  the  Henderson  Land  Company,  in  the 
north-western  part  of  the  State. 

Virginians  were  the  first  white  people  who 
visited  Kentucky.  Conspicuous  among  these 
hardy  first  adventurers  was  the  renowned  Daniel 
Boone,  who  entered  it  in  1769,  and  again  in  1775 
as  guide  to  a  party  sent  -out  by  the  Henderson 
Land  Company.  Several  colonies  were  estab- 
lished and  made  permanent  by  emigrants  from 
Virginia,  South  Carolina  and  Maryland ;  and,  in 
1782,  General  Clark  succeeded  in  conquermg 
the  whole  territory  from  the  British  and  their 
Indian  allies,  a  result  which  General  Wayne 
firmly  consolidated,  in  1794,  by  the  famous  vic- 
tory on  the  Maumee. 

We  do  not  propose  to  give  a  full  history  of 

*See  John  G.  Shea's  "  Early  Voyages  up  and  down  the  Missis- 
sippi," pg.  120.     "Albany,  Joel  Munsel,  1861." 


1805.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CPIARLES  NERINCKX.  67 

the  settlement  of  the  State,  particulars  of  which 
are  related,  at  some  length,  by  Archbishop 
Spalding  in  his  Sketches  of  Kentucky^  and  in  all 
their  interesting  details  by  Marshall,  Butler,  and 
Collins.  We  shall  content  ourselves  with  very 
briefly  describing  the  establishment  of  the  few 
catholic  missionary  stations,  previous  to  the  ar- 
rival of  Father  Nerinckx  in  the  country.* 

William  Coomes  and  family,  accompanied  by 
Doctor  Hart,  an  exemplary  Irish  catholic,  emi- 
grated from  St.  Charles  county,  Maryland,  in 
the  Spring  of  1775,  and  settled  at  Harrod's 
Station,  where  Mrs.  Coomes  subsequently  oj^ened 
a,  school  for  the  education  of  the  children.  They 
were  among  the  first  white  people  who  removed 
to   Kentucky.     But  Catholic   Marylanders  only 

*In  many  things  we  are  guided  by  the  "Sketches  of  Ken- 
tucky," Chap.  III.,  sq.  For  the  other  details  not  heretofore 
published,  we  are  indebted  to  Rev.  Walter  H.  Hill,  S.  J.,  who 
writes:  " These  statements  can  be  fully  relied  on  as  being  ac- 
curate. They  were  collected  and  verified  for  me  by  Clement  S. 
Hill,  Esq.,  of  Lebanon,  Ky.,  on  the  testimony  of  several  persons 
who  witnessed  them :  as,  the  aged  and  pious  Mrs.  McLane, 
daughter  of  Henry  Cambron ;  she  died  in  1875,  aged  ninety-three, 
possessing  the  perfect  use  of  her  faculties,  with  her  memory  re- 
tentive and  lively  till  her  final  illness.  Also,  that  of  the  vener- 
able Alexander  Hamilton,  who  still  survives,  and  who  witnessed 
the  dedication  of  St.  Ann's  in  1798;  his  father  had  emigrated 
Tvith  his  family  from  Maryland,  in  1797.  And  also  by  the  state- 
ments and  traditions  of  the  other  families.  Father  Badin  stated 
to  me,  a  few  years  previous  to  his  death,  some  of  the  above  par- 
ticulars about  St.  Ann's,  adding  that  Clement  Hill  was  regularly 
sent  from  '  Cartwright's  Creek'  to  act  as  his  guide  through  the 
wilderness  when  he  went  to  say  Mass."  Father  Hill  is  himself  a 
_grandson  of  Thomas  Hill,  who  emigrated  from  Maryland  to  Ken- 
tucky, in  1787. 


68  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1672- 

began  a  systematic  emigration  to  the  State  in 
1785. 

That  year  a  league  was  formed  in  Maryland 
by  sixty  catholic  families  to  emigrate  to  Ken- 
tucky, and  settle  together,  for  mutual  protec- 
tion against  the  Indians  ;  and  also,  in  order  that 
they  might  have  church  and  priest.  They 
agreed  to  get  a  priest  to  accompany  them,  if  it 
were  possible.  Basil  Hayden's  bond  for  his 
land  is  signed  at  Baltimore,  in  1785,  and  it  calls 
to  bond  on  Philimer  Lee ;  this  bond  is  recorded 
at  Bardstown.  They  subsequently  lived  adjoin- 
ing neighbors  on  Pottinger's  Creek. 

These  sixty  families  were  to  emigrate  as  cir- 
cumstances permitted.  They  did  not  all  start  to- 
gether ;  some  emigrated  in  1785,  twenty-live 
families  going  to  Kentucky  that  year,  among 
them  the  Haydens  and  Lancasters.  They 
reached  their  adopted  State  that  same  year,  and 
they  settled  chiefly  on  Pottinger's  Creek.* 

More  families  followed  in  the  Spring  of  1786 
with  Captain  James  Ptapier,  settling,  according 
to  the  terms  of  the  league,  in  the  same  neigh- 
borhood. In  the  following  year,  1787,  another 
portion  of  the  colony  left  Maryland  in  two 
parties  ;  one  with  Edward  Howard,  the  other 
with  Philip  Miles  and  Thomas  Hill ;  and  most 
of    the    remaining    families   belonging  to    the 

^•Kentucky  was  first  a  county  of  Virginia;  at  the  period  here 
referred  to,  or  in  1785,  it  had  been  divided  into  three  counties, 
namely:  Jefferson,  Lincoln,  and  Fayette.  The  district  settled 
by  the  first  catholic  emigrants  was  in  Jefferson  county,  or  in 
what  is  now,  Nelson,  Washington,  and  Marion  counties. 


1805.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  69 

league,  together  with  many  others  who  had 
not  joined  it,  reached  their  destination  in 
1788  w^ith  Robert  Abell.  Edward  Howard,  who 
emigrated  to  Kentucky  in  1787,  was  accompa- 
nied, it  is  supposed,  by  Father  Whelan,  an  Irish 
Franciscan  of  Maryland,  the  first  priest  who 
went  to  the  new  catholic  colony.  Howard  went 
from  Louisville  to  Pottinger's  Creek  by  way  of 
Bullitt's  Lick — "  Salt  Lick  " — where  salt  was 
first  made  in  Kentucky :  it  was  a  few  miles  from 
the  spot  where  now  stands  the  town  of  Shepherds- 
ville,  on  Salt  River.  He  worked  his  path 
through  the  forest,  by  "blazing  the  trees,"  and 
his  trail  was  followed  by  succeeding  emigrants, 
their  road  to  Pottinger's  Creek  passing  also  by 
way  of  Bardstown. 

Philimer  Lee,  or  as  he  was  better  known, 
Philip  Lee,  kept  a  record,  which  is  still  extant, 
and  which  he  began  as  early  as  1735,  in  Mary- 
land. From  the  entries  in  that  record,  he  may 
be  seen  to  have  had  many  neighbors  of  the 
same  name,  in  Maryland  and  in  Kentucky: 
Haydens,  Thompsons,  Smiths,  Rapiers,  Cashs, 
Russels,  Howards,  Browns,*  Coomes,  Lancasters, 
etc.,  all  of  whom,  it  would  appear,  belonged  to 
the  league  of  the  sixty  families. 

Father  Whelan  attended  to  the  spiritual 
wants  of  the  catholic  families  of  Kentucky  for  a 
little  more  than  two  years,  and  in  consequence 

*  Joseph  Brown  was  one  of  the  league,  and  his  was  one  of  the 
twenty-five  families  that  reached  Kentucky  in  1785  ;  he  was  the 
maternal  grandfather  of  Rev.  J.  B.  Hutchins  of  Loretto. 


70  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1672- 

of  the  difficulties  without  number  which  beset 
his  ministry,  returned  to  Maryhmd  in  the 
Spring  of  1790.  In  the  same  year  a  colony 
came  out  with  Benedict  Sj^alding,  followed  in 
the  ensuing  year  by  other  emigrants  who  accom- 
panied Leonard  Hamilton.  The  greater  portion 
of  these  located  themselves  on  the  Rolling  Fork 
of  the  Salt  River,  in  the  neighborhood  where  i& 
now  Holy  Mary's  or  Calvary.  Leonard  Mat- 
tingly  and  many  others  who  settled  on  Hardin's 
Creek,  came  out  from  Maryland  in  1791. 

In  the  Summer  of  1790,  Father  William  de 
BoMn^  an  Irish  priest  educated  in  France,  ar- 
rived in  Kentucky  with  a  caravan  of  emigrants 
from  JN'orth  Carolina  and  East  Tennessee ;  and 
he  continued  some  time  saying  Mass  and  admin- 
istering the  sacraments.  That  same  year,  1790, 
he  built,  on  Pottinger^s  CreeJc,  a  log  chapel,  which 
he  dedicated  to  the  Holy  Cross ;  this  temporary 
hut  was  covered  with  clapboard  and  was  unpro- 
vided with  glass  in  the  windows  ;  a  slab  of  wood 
roughly  hewed  served  for  an  altar.  Such  w^as 
the  first  catholic  church  ever  built  in  Kentucky  t 
Soon  after  its  erection.  Rev.  de  Rohan  discon- 
tinued the  active  employments  of  the  ministry, 
by  direction  of  Bishop  Carroll.  He  subse- 
quently led  a  quiet  and  edifying  life,  and  he 
died  at  an  advanced  age  in  1833  or  1834,  at  St. 
Thomas  Seminary,  in  Nelson  county. 

In  1793,  Bishop  Carroll  of  Baltimore,  aware 
of  the  destitute  condition  of  the  Kentucky  catho- 
lic settlements,  selected  for  this  arduous  mission 


1805.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  ^"ERI^X•KX.  71 

the  Rev.  Ste]jhen  Theodore  Badin,  whom  he  had 
ordained  the  25th  of  May,  of  the  same  year,  that 
gentleman  being  the  first  priest  ever  ordained 
in  the  United  States.  The  Kev.  Mr.  Barrieres, 
a  more  aged  clergyman,  was  constituted  Yicar- 
general  of  the  distant  missionary  district,  and 
accompanied  Father  Badin,  arriving  in  Ken- 
tucky in  September,  1793.  But,  unable  to  adapt 
himself  to  the  rude  state  of  society  in  the,  then,, 
wilderness,  Father  Barrieres  departed  for  New 
Orleans  in  April,  1794,  leaving  the  young  priest 
alone  to  attend  to  the  wants  of  the  now  numerous 
and  widely  scattered  catholic  immigrants,  till 
1797,  when  the  Bev.  Mr.  Fournier^Nm  sent  to  his 
assistance. 

St.  Ann's,  on  CartwrigMs  Creek,  which  became 
in  a  short  time  the  largest  and  most  important 
congregation,  was  the  second  church  built  in  Ken- 
tucky. The  original  nucleus  of  St.  Ann's  con- 
gregation consisted  of  two  families,  that  of 
Thomas  Hill  and  that  of  Henry  Cambron. 
Cambron  came,  together  with  his  father,  from 
Montgomery  county,  Maryland,  seven  miles 
from  Greorgetown,  reaching  Kentucky  in  1788. 
He  settled  near  the  site  of  the  present  St.  Rose's 
church,  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  a  mill  be- 
longing to  John  Waller.  This  mill  and  the  farm 
attached  to  it,  were  selected  by  Rev.  Edward 
Fenwick,  0.  P.,  who  visited  Kentucky  in  1805, 
as  a  convenient  spot  for  a  convent  of  his  order; 
and  were  bought  by  him  on  his  return  from 
Maryland  with  his  religious  brethren,  in  1806^ 


72  LIFE  OF  KEV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1672- 

in  order  to  establish  there  a  community  of 
Dominicans,  who  took  possession  of  the  phice  in 
that  year.  Thomas  Hill  came  from  St.  Mary's 
county,  Maryland,  five  miles  from  Leonardstown, 
in  the  Spring  of  1787,  along  with  his  brother-in- 
law,  Philip  Miles.  Their  boats  were  attacked 
by  the  Indians,  twenty  miles  above  Louisville, 
then  Fort  Nelson ;  a  negro  man,  belonging  to 
Hill,  and  all  their  horses,  were  killed,  and  an 
ounce  musket  ball  j)assed  through  both  thighs 
of  Hill.  He  remained  at  Bardstow^n  two  years, 
in  consequence  of  his  wounds ;  and  as  he  heard 
numerous  complaints  from  the  large  colony  that 
came,  in  1788,  concerning  the  sterility  of  the 
land  on  Pottinger's  Creek,  he  determined  on 
selecting  a  more  inviting  locality  ;  and  accord- 
ingly, he  went,  in  1789,  to  Cartwright's  Creek, 
near  to  the  spot  where  Henry  Cambron  had  lo- 
cated in  the  preceding  year. 

In  the  following  year,  1790,  they  conceived 
the  project  of  going  upon  the  table-land,  some 
two  miles  to  the  south-east,  on  the  ridge,  and 
buying  adjoining  farms,  there  building  a  church, 
in  order  to  gather  the  catholics  around  them. 
They  did  as  thus  proposed ;  and,  as  soon  as  land 
€Ould  be  cleared  of  the  timber  sufficiently  to 
raise  necessary  crops,  they  began  the  erection 
of  a  church,  in  the  year  1794.  Their  church 
was  dedicated  to  St.  Ann  by  Fathers  Badin  and 
Fournier,  in  1798 ;  Mass  having  been  said  for 
several  years  previous,  by  Father  Badin,  in  the 
cabin  of  Thomas  Hill. 


1805.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  73 

As  was  expected,  the  catholics  settled  around 
St.  Ann's  in  great  numbers,  speedily  forming 
the  most  numerous  congregation  in  the  Terri-^ 
tory.  Among  the  families  who  collected  about 
St.  Ann's  church  may  be  named :  Leonard 
Hamilton,  Thomas  Hamilton,  the  Fenwicks, 
Clarkes,  Caricos,"  Boons,  Montgomerys,  John- 
sons, Clarksons,  Edelens,  etc.  Father  Fournier 
had  charge  of  St.  Ann's,  styled  oftentimes 
^' Cartwright's  Creek,"  till  his  death  in  1803. 
It  was  then  attended  by  Father  Badin  till  the 
arrival  of  Father  Nerinckx  in  1805,  who  had 
charge  of  St.  Ann's  till  late  in  1806,  when  it  was 
made  over  to  the  Dominicans.  St.  Ann's  con- 
gregation, subsequently  to  the  practical  closing 
of  their  church  for  service  in  1808,  constituted 
the  St.  Bose's  congregation  up  to  the  time  of 
the  completion  of  the  church  in  Lebanon.  St. 
Rose's  congregation,  it  was  supposed,  then  in- 
cluded one-third  of  all  the  Catholic  population 
of  Kentucky. 

Father  Badin  had  taken  up  his  residence  near 
Holy  Cross  church,  which  was  situated  about 
at  the  center  of  the  catholic  settlement.  He 
subsequently  erected  a  temporary  chapel  at  his 
other  later  residence,  three  miles  from  Holy 
Cross :  this  he  called  St.  Stei^hen^s,  after  his  pa- 
tron Saint.  From  that  point  he  attended  sev- 
eral stations,  the  most  important,  besides  the 
two  already  named,  being,  in  1799,  those  at 
Bardstown,  at  Lexington,  in  Scott  county,  in 
Madison  county,  in  Mercer  county — where  there 


74  I'lFJ^  OF  IJEV.  CHAKLES  NERINCKX.         [1G72- 

were  about  ten  families,  on  Hardin's  Creek,  on 
the  Rolling  Fork  in  Hardin  county,  and  at  Pop- 
lar Neck  on  the  Beech  Fork.  These  last  six 
named,  together  with  St,  Ann's  church,  were 
subsequently  attended  by  Father  Fournier  until 
his  death,  in  1803. 

Father  Fournier,  soon  after  his  arrival  in 
Kentucky,  in  1797,  purchased  one  hundred  acres 
of  ground  on  the  Rolling  Fork — the  site  of  the 
present  Holy  Mary's — and,  after  having  erected 
a  temporary  hut,  removed  thither  in  1798.*  He 
was,  however,  relieved  of  the  care  of  the  stations 
at  Hardin's  Creek,  Poplar  Neck,  and  Mr.  Gardi- 
ner's, for  the  short  period  of  nine  months,  during 
which  Bev.  Antho7iy  Salmon,  another  French 
priest,  took  care  of  these  and  of  the  Bardstown 
mission.  That  zealous  and  indefatigable  priest 
reached  Kentucky  in  February,  1799,  and  fell,  a 
martyr  to  his  zeal  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties, 
on  the  9th  of  November  of  the  same  year,  when, 
on  his  way  to  the  missionary  station  at  Mr. 
Gwynn's,  he  was  thrown  A^olently  from  his 
horse,  and  mortally  wounded.  Father  Badin 
administered  the  last  sacraments  to  his  friend 
and  fellow-laborer,  who  died  the  next  day,  and 
was  buried  in  the  grave-yard  at  Holy  Cross.  He 
was  the  first  priest  who  died  in  Kentucky. 

In  the  same  year,  Bishoj)  Carroll  sent  out  to 
Kentucky  the  Rev.  Mr.  Thayer,  a  converted 
presbyterian  minister,  who  became  a  priest  in 

*See  "iSketchos  of  Kentucky,"  above  quoted.       Father  Ner- 
inckx  calls  it  ninety-four  acres  in  liis  letter  of  May  10,  1806. 


1805.]         LIFE  OF  KEV.  CHARLES  NERIXCKX.  7,5. 

France,  and  was  first  stationed  at  Boston,  He, 
however,  remained  in  the  western  mission  only 
four  years,  during  two  of  which  he  was  engaged 
in  the  ministry,  and  he  left  Kentucky  in  1803. 

Father  Fournier,  who,  speaking  the  English 
language  fluently  and  being  a  man  of  very  en- 
gaging manners,  was  much  loved  by  the  people, 
over  all  of  whom  he  had  a  beneficial  influence, 
died  that  very  year.  He  was  killed  while  work- 
ing at  the  whip-saw,  the  log  falling  and  crushing^ 
him  beneath  it.  His  remains  were  buried  at 
Holy  Cross,  beside  those  of  Father  Salmon. 
The  only  monument  which  marks  the  last  rest- 
ing-place of  these  zealous  pioneers,  is  a  heap  of 
broken  stone,  raised,  a  few  years  since,  over 
their  graves,  by  Rev.  Francis  Wuyts  of  Loretto. 

The  energetic  Father  Badin  was  again  left 
alone  for  more  than  seventeen  months,  his  near- 
est brother  clergyman  being  the  Rev.  Donation 
Olivier,  at  Prairie  du  Rocher,  in  Illinois.  There 
was  only  one  other  priest  in  the  whole  north- 
west, at  that  time ;  the  Rev.  Gabriel  Richard, 
stationed  at  Detroit,  Michigan.  Rev.  Father 
Rivet,  a  warm  friend  of  Mr.  Badin,  and  his 
nearest  neighbor,  at  Post  Vincennes,  had  also 
died  in  1803,  leaving  the  poor  missionary  forlorn 
and  desolate  after  so  many  separations. 

Father  Badin  continued  to  reside  at  St. 
Stephen's.  His  missionary  duties  had,  however, 
greatly  increased ;  "on  his  first  arrival  in  the 
State,  the  number  of  catholic  families  did  not  ex- 
ceed seven  hundred ;  twelve  years  had  elapsed^ 


76  LIFE  OF  EEV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [1805. 

and  the  number  had  now  swelled  to  nearly 
seven  thousand."  *  These  were  scattered  over 
the  whole  state,  and  to  visit  them  all,  even 
occasionally,  required  almost  superhuman  exer- 
tions in  one  solitary  missionary. 

"  Divine  Providence,  at  length,  took  comj^as- 
sion  on  the  forlorn  condition  of  Mr.  Badin,  and 
sent  him  a  zealous  and  indefatigable  auxiliary, 
who  was  to  relieve  him  of  a  great  portion  of  the 
heavy  burden,  which  had  been  long  weighing 
him  down,  and  exhausting  his  energies.  In  the 
annals  of  missionary  life  in  the  west,"  says 
Archbishop  Sjitalding,  "few  names  are  brighter 
than  that  of  Eev.  Charles  Nerinckx.  A  native 
of  Belgium,  and,  like  most  of  the  other  early 
-catholic  missionaries  in  the  west,  a  victim  of  the 
French  Revolution,  he  arrived  in  Kentucky  in 
1805 ;  and  he  labored  with  unremitting  zeal  in 
the  missionary  field,  for  nearly  twenty  years."  f 

*  Letter  of  Father  Nerinckx,  of  May  16,  1806.  He  adds: 
"  some  claim  that  there  are  now  as  many  as  thirteen  thousand 
catholics  in  Kentucky." 

f"  Sketches  of  Kentucky,"  pgg.  130-1. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

1805-1806. 

Father  Nerinckx  on  the  mission. — A  noble  project. — He  writes- 
TO  Belgium  for  men  and  money. — "The  voice  of  one  crying  in 

THE     wilderness." — PoVERTY   OF     KENTUCKY   CATHOLICS. — A    VISIT 

TO  Post  Vincennes. — Who   shall  be  bishop  of  Kentucky? — A 

PEN-PICTURE  OF  FaTHER  BaDIN. 

Father  Nerinckx  was  forty-four  years  of 
age  w^hen  he  entered  upon  this  extensive  mis- 
sionary field  of  hibor,  the  difficulties  of  which 
had  made  many  a  younger  man  shrink  from  it. 
The  many  trials  and  vigils  of  his  seven  years 
seclusion  in  Dendermonde,  had  somewhat  im- 
paired his  health ;  but  having  an  iron  constitu- 
tion and  giant  strength,  he  could  still  hope  for  a 
long  and  laborious  exercise  of  the  holy  ministry. 
However,  he  little  thought  of  himself.  As  we 
have  seen,  his  humility  led  him  to  believe  that 
he  was  of  no  use  to  the  missions ;  and,  if  his 
zeal  for  the  salvation  of  souls  induced  him  to  re- 
quest a  speedy  appointment  to  a  mission,  it  was 
especially  because  he  desired  to  let  his  friends 
in  the  Old  Country  know  the  state  of  aifairs, 
and  carry  out  a  noble  plan,  which  none  but  a 
generous  soul  could  conceive. 

(77) 


78  LIFE  or  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1805- 

Father  Nerinckx  had  left,  in  Belgium,  many 
of  his  brethren  in  the  ministry,  whose  learning 
and  zeal  he  was  eager  to  secure  for  the  strug- 
gling American  Church.  Prevented  from  exer- 
cising their  sacred  calling  in  the  land  of  their 
birth,  they  had  expressed  a  willingness  to  follow 
him  to  the  New  World  and  devote  themselves  to 
the  missions,  as  soon  as  they  would  receive  au- 
thentic assurances  that  their  services  were 
needed  in  the  new  field  to  which  their  re- 
spected friend  had  gone.  Moreover,  many 
wealthy  friends  interested  themselves  in  Rev. 
Ts^'erinckx'  welfare  and  in  the  prosperity  of  the 
country  which  he  had  come  to  evangelize.  It 
therefore  occurred  to  him  that  it  would  be  a 
most  advantageous  plan  for  his  countrymen  and 
for  the  mission  to  which  he  had  been  sent,  to 
center  in  one  state  whatever  men  and  means  he 
might  procure,  in  order  to  make  it  a  thoroughly 
catholic  region.  This  would  give  the  new- 
comers the  benefits  of  companionship  and  fre- 
quent pious  conversation  which  they  had  en- 
joyed at  home,  and  which  he  knew,  men  no 
longer  young,  and  with  habits  formed,  would 
greatly  miss  in  a  strange  land.  Kentucky  would 
so  become  a  focus  of  catholicity,  whence  the  rays 
of  faith  would  again  radiate  far  and  wide  ;  an  oa- 
sis in  the  desert,  adorned  with  noble  churches 
which  the  wealth  of  friends  would  enable  him  to 
build,  and  enriched  with  the  talented  men  whom 
he  desired  to  gain  to  the  cause.  The  realiza- 
tion of  that  project  would  be  his  country's  mite 


1806.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHAHLES  NERINCKX,  79 

to  America's  enlightenment;  an  everlasting 
monument  of  the  zeal  of  Catholic  Belgium  for 
the  extension  of  our  Holy  Faith. 

With  this  object  in  view,  he  set  to  work  with 
greater  ardor,  accompanying  Father  Badin  to 
all  the  stations  which,  up  to  that  time,  solely  de- 
pended on  the  ministrations  of  that  indefatiga- 
ble pioneer.  A  few  months  sufficed  to  convince 
him  of  the  great  harvest  to  be  gathered  in,  and 
caused  him  to  state  that,  "where  thirteen  years 
ago  there  was  only  one  church,  we  now  count 
twenty  congregations  ;  non-catholic  settlers  aban- 
don their  farms,  I  mean,  sell  them  as  fast  as 
catholics  arrive  and  grow  in  numbers."* 

As  early  as  September,  1805,  he  wrote  to  Bel- 
gium :  "I  am  glad  to  hear  that  what  I  lately 
wrote  about  our  distress  has  caused  a  reverend 
gentleman,  named  De  Cuyper,  to  make  up  his 
mind  to  come  and  help  us.  I  beg  to  assure  you 
that  my  letters  did  not  begin  to  do  justice  to  the 
abandoned  state  of  our  catholic  brethren  in  these 
regions ;  were  we  twelve  priests,  we  would  not 
suffice  to  keep  our  co-religionists  in  the  faith,  or 
satisfy  the  demand  for  help.  Besides  Kentucky, 
Louisiana,  which  is  as  large  as  half  of  all  the 
other  States,  and  which,  under  Spanish  domina- 
tion, was  entirely  catholic,  is,  so  to  say,  com- 
pletely neglected  and  without  priests ;  Illinois 
and  the  country  around  Post  St.  Vincent  are  in 
danger  of  losing  the  faith  from  the  same  cause  .  . 

*  Letter  of  Father  Nerinckx,  dated,  "Ash-Wednesday,  1807," 
to  his  parents. 


80  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1805- 

"  On  the  other  hand  outsiders  continually  call 
for  priests,  and  offer  us  any  amount  of  land ;. 
one  gentleman  offers  us  a  thousand  acres ;  the 
Governor  of  the  new  State  of  Tennessee,  about 
two  hundred  miles  from  here,  offers  to  give  a 
farm  to  us  all,  if  we  build  churches  there. 
Those  people  know  that  the  catholics  follow 
their  priests,  and  that  by  those  means  they 
would  gain  settlers  and  have  a  chance  of  selling 
the  public  lands,  .  .  .  Oh !  that  I  had  words 
to  enlist  some  virtuous  priests  in  the  cause  of 
religion !  But  they  must  be  men  who  have 
nothing  but  God's  glory  and  the  w^elfare  of  suf- 
fering christians  at  heart ;  men  of  solid  and  true 
principles,  grounded  in  devotion  and  of  unexcep- 
tional morality  ;  purity  of  character,  sobriety, 
and  love  of  solitude  are  desirable  every  where,, 
but  are  here  of  prime  necessity."  * 

Father  Nerinckx  wrote,  from  Holy  Mary's  at 
the  Rolling  Fork,  on  the  6th  of  February,  1806, 
a  letter  to  Bishop  Carroll,  setting  forth  his  plans, 
and  desiring  him  to  consent  to  have  Kentucky 
selected  for  the  purpose.  "  The  field,"  he  writes,. 
"  is  ever3"-where  full  of  weeds  and  thistles  that 
choke  the  good  seed,  there  being  only  two  who 
can  see  to  it  to  cut  them  in  time.  In  consequence,, 
I  feel  it  my  duty  to  manifest  to  your  Lordship 
my  desire  of  having  in  this  region  my  country- 
man. Rev.  De  Cuyper,f  and  others,  if  there  are 

*MS.  letter  of  Rev.  Father  Nerinckx  began  September,  1805, 
ended  May  16,  1806. 

■J- That  reverend  gentleman  had  left  London,  August  2,  1805, 


180G.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  81 

any  who  are  willing  to  come  out  here.  The 
necessity  is  urgent  indeed,  for  Kentucky  is  in 
the  most  abject  spiritual  misery.  If  you  allow 
me  to  speak  my  mind,  I  do  not  think  it  good  to 
send  my  countrymen  in  places  far  distant  from 
one  another,  because,  being  new-comers,  they 
would  not  know  how  or  where  to  settle  when 
they  arri\^e  in  the  missions,  or  where  to  die  a 
quiet  death  when  exhausted  by  work,  age,  or 
sickness.  Hence,  I  would  deem  it  better  to 
send,  whatever  subsidies  might  be  expected  from 
our  country,  to  one  region,  instead  of  having- 
them  scattered  far  and  wide,  or  in  missions  very 
distant  from  them.  This  being  approved  of,  it 
would  only  be  left  to  determine  the  choice  of 
such  place.  Your  Lordship  will  deign  to  select 
it,  with  your  usual  keen  perception  and  en- 
lightened prudence.  I  know  it  well ;  all  the  re- 
gions of  your  extensive  diocese  ardently  desire 
priests ;  but  I  can  hardly  believe  it  possible  to 
find  greater  need  than  here,  where  there  is, 
moreover,  reasonable  hope  of  abundant  fruits. 
However,  I  would  not  importune  a  man  to  come 
out  here,  unless  he  be  brimful  of  the  zeal  of  God. 
and  charity  for  his  neighbors,  seeking  only  the 
things  of  Christ,  convinced  that  he  will  not  find 
his  own.  Only  under  these  conditions  do  I  most 
lovingly  invite  whoever  is  willing  to  come."  * 
Father  Nerinckx,  at  the  same  time,  addressed 

and  arrived  in  Baltimore  the  17th  of  September.    He  died  shortly^ 
after  at  Georgetown  College. 
*  Baltimore  MSS.  letters. 


82  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  KERINCKX.         [1805- 

letters  to  several  of  his  Belgian  friends,  asking 
for  "men,  vestments,  and  money  for  the  Ameri- 
can mission."  He  also  requested  the  Bishop  to 
write  to  Mr.  Dewolf,  of  Antwerp,  "  a  few  words 
which  will  add  more  weight  to  what  I  relate  of 
the  wants  of  our  congregations,  and  enhance  its 
value  and  truthfulness  in  the  eyes  of  my  friends," 
a  request  which  Bishop  Carroll  readily  complied 
with  in  the  following  letter : 

"  Baltimore,  Aj)ril  1,  1806. 
''Sir: 

"  Your  very  estimable  friend,  Mr.  Nerinckx, 
has  sent  me,  from  Kentucky,  an  account  of  his 
apostolic  labors,  a  large  package  of  letters  ad- 
dressed to  you,  which  I  have  the  honor  of  trans- 
mitting by  a  vessel  that  is  to  leave  this  port  to- 
morrow for  Amsterdam.  While  transmitting 
them  I  take  a  liberty  which  you  will  surely  par- 
don me. 

"  From  the  description  given  me  by  Mr.  Ner- 
inckx,  I  am  aware  of  your  zeal  for  the  increase 
of  the  true  religion  in  the  diocese  w^hich  Provi- 
dence has  confided  to  me,  and  of  your  kindness 
in  interesting  yourself  to  send  ecclesiastics 
whose  life  and  talents  will  edify  the  faithful  and 
maintain  the  faith.  Ah !  sir,  if  it  w^ere  possible 
for  you  to  find  and  persuade  five  or  six  priests 
like  Mr.  Nerinckx,  it  is  incredible  how  much 
they  would  extend,  in  these  vast  regions,  the 
kingdom  of  Jesus  Christ. 

"Although  he  has  but  imperfectly  acquired 
our  language,  still,  every  account  from  Kentucky 


1806.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  83 

already  speaks  of  him  as  a  man  who  has  won 
the  respect,  confidence,  and  veneration  of  the 
whole  people.  I  feel  only  one  anxiety  about  him  : 
it  is,  that,  incessantly  engaged  in  the  functions 
of  his  apostolate,  he  will  be  exhausted  by  toil. 

"  His  friend,  Mr.  Cuypers,  who  was  to  have 
been  his  coadjutor  and  consolation,  sank  under 
the  delicacy  of  his  constitution  before  commenc- 
ing his  career  in  the  mission  which  awaited  him. 
I  do  not  know  whether  it  was  in  his  voyage  from 
Amsterdam,  or  a  few  days  after  his  landing, 
that  he  was  attacked  with  a  dysentery.  It  did 
not  at  first  seem  dangerous.  I  advised  him  to 
go  to  Greorgetown  College,  the  healthiest  place  in 
the  country,  both  to  recruit  and  to  become  more 
familiar  with  our  language,  before  starting  to 
join  Mr.  Nerinckx.  Notwithstanding  all  possi- 
ble care,  his  disease  grew  worse,  and  he  died  a 
few  days  before  Christmas,  in  the  arms  of  my 
coadjutor.  You  will  say  with  me,  that  his  death, 
disastrous  for  my  diocese,  is  only  the  greatest 
advantage  to  him,  by  advancing  the  day  of  his 
happy  entrance  into  Heaven.  His  piety  made  a 
lively  impression  on  all  at  the  college,  and 
served  to  excite  all  to  the  exercise  of  virtue. 

"  Receive,  sir,  the  assurance  of  my  gratitude, 
respect,  and  of  my  desire  to  serve  you  when  in 
my  power. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  most  obedi- 
ent servant, 

"f  John,  Bishop  of  Baltimore."* 

*  Copied   from  "Western  Missions  and  Missionaries,"  by  De 
Smedt,  S.  J.,  pg.  457-8. 


84  LIFE  OF  EEV.  CIIAELES  KERI^XKX.         [1S05- 

Having  conceived  a  high  opinion  of  some 
priests  whom  he  had  met  at  Georgetown, 
Father  JSTerinckx  also  called  Bishop  Carroll's  at- 
tention to  the  necessity  of  appointing  a  Bishop 
for  Kentucky,  as  soon  as  possible.  On  that  sub- 
ject, he  wrote  the  same  year:  "I  can  not  but 
renew  my  sincere  wish  to  have,  along  with  other 
laborers,  a  Bishop ;  one  who  will  visit  his  flock, 
not  once  in  a  long  while,  and  in  a  passing  way, 
but  who  shall  live  here  in  its  midst,  and  visit 
it  regularly  and  often  ;  a  man,  omni  exceptione 
major,  to  whom  this  flock,  almost  more  miser- 
able than  misery  itself,  will  be  committed."  * 

Having  thus  fulfilled  wdiat  he  considered  his 
mission,  the  humble  priest  resumed  the  arduous 
duties  of  his  wandering  life,  with  more  courage 
and  greater  hope  for  the  future,  "strengthened 
and  consoled,"  as  he  writes,  "  almost  solely  by 
the  three  following  considerations :  1.  I  can  be 
excused  of  presumption  before  God,  in  my  en- 
ter23rise,  because  there  are  absolutely  no  others 
to  be  found  who  come  to  do  it  better ;  2.  This 
expression  of  the  holy  founder  of  the  Jesuits : 
'  Were  it  that  I  had  my  choice,  I  would  rather 
live  in  the  uncertainty  of  my  salvation,  and  at 
the  same  time  serve  God  and  my  neighbor,  than 
die  at  this  very  moment,  with  the  assurance  of 
my  salvation ; '  3.  The  letter  of  St.  Francis 
Xavier  to  Francis  Mansilla :  '  If  you  can  not  do 
what  you  will,  will  what  you  can,  .  .  .  and 
if  you  find  so  much  to  be  done  that  you  can  not 

*  Baltimore  MSS. 


1806.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHAIiLES  NERINCKX.  85 

take  it  all  to  heart,  do  as  much  as  you  can  and 
be  satisfied.  Tliank  God  even  for  that,  that  he 
has  guided  you  to  such  places,  where,  because 
of  the  multiplicity  of  spiritual  work,  it  would  be 
impossible  to  be  lazy,  even  if  you  wanted  to,  a 
thing  which  must  surely  be  counted  among  the 
great  graces  of  Grod.  Deem  yourself  happy  to 
be  in  purgatory  to  satisfy  for  the  punishments  due 
to  your  sins,  and  you  will  think  all  the  more  of 
the  mercy  of  Grod,  who  has  exchanged  your  purga- 
tory for  those  pains.'  Such  and  similar  con- 
siderations sweeten  the  bitterness  and  sorrows  I 
experience."  The  fact  is,  that  Father  Nerinckx 
looked  upon  himself  more  in  the  light  of  a  John 
the  Baptist,  who  was  to  prepare  the  way  of  the 
Lord,  and  make  straight  the  paths  for  the 
chosen  men  who  were  to  come  after  him,  and 
who,  he  thought,  were  preferred  before  him  to 
preach  the  Word  of  God  to  the  people.  That  he, 
himself,  was  selected  to  fill  the  valleys,  to  bring 
low  the  hills  and  mountains,  to  make  the  rough 
ways  plain,  and  cause  hundreds  of  souls  to  see 
the  salvation  of  God,  we  shall  subsequently  see  ; 
but  that  he  was  the  voice  of  one  crying  in  the 
wilderness,  is  scarcely  to  be  doubted,  when  we 
consider  the  poverty  of  Kentucky  at  that  time, 
as  described  in  the  correspondence  of  the  mis- 
sionary. 

The  following  extract,  from  a  letter  written  to 
his  parents,  in  1807,  is  somewhat  quaint,  but 
conveys  withal  a  very  adequate  idea  of  the  suf- 
ferings which  a  man  used,  at  least  to  what  are 


86  I^lFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERTNCKX.        [1805- 

considered  necessary  comforts  of  life,  and,  but 
for  his  mortifications,  to  the  refinements  of 
polite  society,  for  forty  years,  must  have  under- 
gone: 

"  In  a  recent  letter  I  described  to  you  all  the 
nays  of  this  country :  v.  g.,  no  cheese,  little  or 
no  vegetables,  no  wine,  no  beer,  no  oil,  no  coal, 
no  turf,  no  bells,  no  sparrows,  very  few  or  no 
singing  birds,  no  mosquitoes,*  scarcely  ever 
fresh  meat,  no  stoves,  no  spices  or  fine  herbs,  no 
peaches,  no  fruit-trees  with  the  exception  of  wild 
apple  and  pear  trees,  no  hedges,  no  ditches,  no 
stone  roads,  no  slate  roofs,  no  floor  or  roof  tiles. 
I  told  you,  that  the  most  wonderful  thing  here 
was,  that  there  is  nothing  wonderful  to  be  found. 
A  Fleming  can  surely  not  be  enticed  to  this- 
country  by  curiosity  ;  one  thing  might,  perhaps, 
induce  him  to  come  ;  that  is,  the  facility  of  mak- 
ing a  living,  if  he  is  satisfied  with  little,  and  is 
willing  to  work     .     .     .     The   Indians  are  al- 

*  The  good  missionary  could  scarcely  have  felt  the  absence  of 
that  nuisance,  had  he  dwelt  near  the  rivers.  There  is  no  coun- 
try in  Europe  in  which  these  pestilent  insects  are  so  numerous 
and  so  annoying,  as  they  are  near  the  water-courses  in  the  west- 
ern and  southern  states  of  America.  The  mosquito-bar,  which, 
in  some  districts,  is  almost  a  simple  necessity  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  one's  life  during  the  summer-nights'  sleep,  is  an  unknown 
piece  of  drapery  in  European  dwellings.  The  mosquitoes  must 
have  settled  in  Kentucky  very  early  in  this  century.  So  at  least 
thought  the  writer  when  he  experienced  the  stunning  familiarity 
■with  which  these  blood-suckers  made  for  him,  through  a  dilapi- 
dated mosquito-bar,  during  a  summer's  sleepless  night  in  Louis- 
ville. The  aggravating  way  in  which  they  heralded  their  ap- 
proach, convinced  him  that  they  laid  full  claim  to  citizenship  oa 
"the  dark  and  bloody  ground." 


1806.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERI^sCKX.  87 

read}^  one  hundred  and  fi|ty  miles   away  from 
here. 

"When  you  send  church  articles,"  he  con- 
tinues, "  also  add  some  money,  that  I  may  be 
enabled  to  have  them  brought  here,  for  we  have 
no  means  of  support.  As  I  told  you  in  one  of 
my  former  letters,*  my  salary  will  never  reacli 
$200;  our  plantations  must  support  us,  and 
every  thing  is  dear.  Common  broadcloth  sells 
at  $7  a  yard ;  a  pair  of  shoes  costs  $2 ;  I  have  to 
pay  |20  for  a  common  saddle.  The  gentlemen, 
(so  they  call  the  priests  here),  are  obliged  to 
supply  every  thing  in  almost  all  the  churches. 
But  here  arises  an  objection.  The  question  may 
be  asked,  how  these  two  things  can  be  recon- 
ciled :  that  our  people  are  so  attached  to  their 
religion,  and  so  slow  in  helping  it  along  by  tem- 
poral aid?  I  answer:  the  people  now  settled  in 
Kentucky,  very  few  or  rather  none  excepted, 
come  here  from  Maryland,  if  catholics ;  from 
other  States  if  heretics ;  and  nearly  all  in  such  a 
state  or  condition,  that  they  were  in  the  absolute 
impossibility  of  living  there  any  longer,  the  land 
they  occupied  being  w^ell-nigh  exhausted ;  hence 
all  are  poor,  and  some  in  extreme  want.  Many 
Irishmen  come  from  Europe  as  badly  supplied 
.  .  .  They  located  in  the  worst  agricultural 
portion  of  the  State,  probably  because  the  first 
catholics  settled  in  this  place  in  1785.  The  first 
catholic  priest  was  stationed  here,  and  the  larg- 
est number  of  settlers,  although  not  over  pious, 

*  Letter  of  September,  1805. 


88  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1805- 

wished  to  live  neajj  the  priest.  This  is  the 
ease  when  they  are  poor.  When,  however,  they 
begin  to  hunt  for  wealth,  they  go  to  more  distant 
regions,  without  any  further  care  for  religion, 
and  so  they  avoid  contributing  for  church  j^ur- 
poses.  Again,  priests  are  scarce  ;  hence  the  peo- 
ple are  not  duly  impressed  with  their  duty  in 
that  respect,  although  what  is  asked  of  them  is 
very  little.  Father  Badin  asks  one  bushel  out 
of  every  hundred.  According  to  what  my  pre- 
decessor had,  I  have  a  right  to  $1.50  from  every 
family,  but  the  sixth  part  of  these  dues  will  not 
be  paid.  Protestants  who  become  converts  to 
our  holy  religion  and  are  as  a  rule  in  better  cir- 
cumstances because  occupying  the  best  lands,  are 
few  in  number  and  less  accustomed  to  these 
small  duties,  although  they  often  become  the  best 
christians.  Finally,  all  alike  are  aifected,  as  in 
our  country,  with  the  complaint  commonly 
called  money-fever,  which  is  very  endemic.  I 
can  truly  say  that  I  alone  have  contributed 
more  to  the  church,  than  the  four  or  live  hun- 
dred families  under  ni}^  care  taken  together ;  and 
that  during  my  two  years'  residence  here,  I  have 
not  appropriated  three  dollars  of  the  salary  to 
my  own  use.  God  provides,  and  I  hope  he  will 
reward  my  host  for  the  board  he  gives  me,  and 
bless  you  and  other  good  souls  of  my  fatherland 
who,  by  their  donations,  help  to  build  up  the 
Church  of  God  through  my  unworthy  hands. 
May  it  please  God  to  give  them  his  beautiful 


1806.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  89 

heaven  for  such  noble  deeds,  and  admit  me  into 
their  sweet  company !" 

No  wonder  that  this  poor  priest  boasted  later 
of  "a  palace  that  had  cost  him  just  $6.50  in 
money  !  "  In  order  not  to  tax  his  parishioners, 
he  built  it  himself,  chiefly  with  his  own  hands ; 
and  the  modest  appearance  of  Loretto  and  of  the 
house  of  its  founder,  ]oroclaims,  more  eloquently 
than  any  words  of  ours  could  express,  that  Rev. 
Nerinckx  not  only  cheerfully  suffered  want,  but 
became  thoroughly  imbued  with  the  holy  spirit 
of  poverty,  which  he  and  his  sisterhood  so 
heroically  practiced  in  later  years. 

However,  before  going  to  so  extravagant  an 
expense  in  the  way  of  "  palace  "  building,  Father 
Nerinckx  lived  some  time  wath  Father  Badin,  at 
St.  Stephen's,  Marion  county,  in  a  log-house.  It 
was  built  by  the  same  reverend  gentleman  on  the 
identical  spot  now  graced  by  the  substantial 
buildings  and  delightful  grounds  of  the  Loretto 
Mother-house,  and  was  the  headquarters  of  the 
truly  apostolic  missionaries  whose  labors  a  grate- 
ful people  to  this  day  remembers. 

Father  Nerinckx  spent  the  first  winter  of  his 
missionary  life  in  Kentucky,  going  from  mission 
to  mission,  to  celebrate  and  preach  the  Jubilee, 
rightly  thinking  that  the  advent  of  several  new 
priests  would  be  a  good  opportunity  for  the 
peoj^le  to  go  to  the  Holy  Sacraments. 

"  On  the  2d  of  December,  1805,  we  have 
Oldened  the  first  Jubilee  ever  held  in  this  part  of 


90  I>n^^E  OF  KEV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1805- 

the  New  World.  About  one  p.  m.,  we  walked  in 
procession  from  the  parish  church,  now  called 
Holy  Cross,  to  the  house  where  the  Trappists 
live,  a  distance  of  nearly  a  mile.  I  had  the 
happiness  of  carrying  the  Most  Blessed  Sacra- 
ment, and  gave  benediction  from  an  altar  built 
alongside  the  street.  The  prie&ts  of  the  Trap- 
pist  community — another  has  joined  it  lately — 
assisted,  clad  in  sacredotal  garments,  and  the 
people  showed  much  devotion.  The  good  work 
is  eminently  successful,  but  it  is  impossible  tO' 
do  justice  to  it ;  it  is  as  much  above  our  strength 
as  the  sun  is  above  our  heads.  We  find  out 
scores  of  people  of  tAventy  years  and  over,  who 
never  made  their  first  communion  ;  early  rising, 
hard  work,  and  late  meals,  tell  on  us  all,  and  we 
are  so  lean  that  we  will  soon  be  able  to  worry 
through  the  narrow  gate  of  heaven.  God  grant 
it?"* 

Having  finished  the  visitation  of  the  different 
Kentucky  stations,  the  two  set  out  for  Post  Vin-- 
cennes  early  in  the  Spring  of  1806.  This  station 
had  not  been  visited  since  Father  Olivier,  then 
residing  at  Prairie  du  Rocher,  among  the  French 
Catholics  on  the  Mississippi,  had  spent  there  two- 
weeks  in  July,  1805.  Father  Nerinckx  was 
very  anxious  to  undertake  that  journey.  Having" 
given  up  his  intention  of  joining  the  Trappists, 
out  of  obedience  to  his  Bishop,  he  was  now  re- 
volving in  his  mind  the  possibility  of  indulging 
his  love  for  seclusion  and  for  a  life  of  austerity, 

*  Letter  of  Rev.  Nerinekx  of  December  6,  LS05. 


1806]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  91 

by  becoming  a  missionary  to  the  Indians,  a  plan 
against  which,  he  thought,  Bishop  Carroll  could 
not  urge  the  necessity  of  other  missions.  That 
he  succeeded  no  better,  in  this  second  attempt 
to  bury  himself  out  of  sight  of  the  world,  is  evi- 
dent from  the  following  extract  from  a  letter  ta 
his  parents,  written  in  May,  1807.  "  I  have  not 
yet  determined  where  to  live.  The  Vicar-general 
Badin  wishes  me  to  remain  with  him,  and  the 
Bishop  of  Baltimore  entreats  me  not  to  go  to  the 
State  or  Territory  of  Indiana,  where  he  intends 
to  send  two  countrymen  of  mine,  the  Jesuits, 
Fathers  Malave  and  Henry.  As  soon  as  other 
fathers  arrive  from  Europe,  to  fill  their  places 
at  Georgetown,  they  will  start  for  that  mis- 
sion."*    .     .     . 

Fathers  Badin  and  Nerinckx  "  arrived  at  the 
Post  on  the  14th  of  April,  and  remained  until 
the  27th,  1806,  baptizing  many  children  and  as- 
sisting at  several  marriages,  besides  administer- 
ing the  other  sacraments  as  usual. "f  Father 
Nerinckx,  in  a  letter  to  his  parents,  "  described 
his  journey  to  the  Illinois  and  to  Post  Vin- 
cennes,  mentioning  what  he  met  of  interest 
among  the  savages,  "J  but  all  our  efforts  to  se- 
cure it  have  been  in  vain.  It  was,  very  likely, 
destroyed  with  many  similar  documents  of  im- 
portance for  the  history  of  that  interesting  mis- 

*  Letter  of  Rev.  Neiinckx  in  the  Bollandist  collection. 

f  See  "Life  of  Bishop  Flaget,"  by  Archbishop  Spalding,  pg. 
119. 

X  Autograph  letter  of  Rev.  Nerinckx  to  his  parents,  dated. 
1807. 


m  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1805- 

sion.  The  following  account,  which  he  sent  to 
Bishop  Carroll,*  gives  us  a  faint  idea  of  what 
the  venerable  Father  Rivet,  who  died  at  Post 
Vincennes  in  1804,  must  have  suffered  in  that 
neglected  station :  "I  have  visited,  in  company 
with  Father  Badin,  the  catholics  at  Post  Vin- 
cennes. The  trip  took  us  about  a  month.  We 
found  them  like  unto  sheep  astray  and  almost 
perishing ;  their  total  destruction  seems  certain, 
unless  a  helping  hand  be  extended  to  them. 
They  are  very  bad  people,  .  .  .  unmindful 
of  the  commandments  of  the  church  with  regard 
to  the  observance  of  feasts,  of  fasts  and  absti- 
nence ;  in  a  word,  there  is  '  neither  beauty  nor 
comeliness,  but  destruction  and  unhappiness  are 
in  their  ways  !'  I  think  there  are  about  eighty 
families  at  the  Post,  but  many  more  are  scat- 
tered in  the  neighborhood.  They  desire  very 
much  to  have  a  priest  who  would  help  them  in 
their  distress,  although  I  am  afraid  they  will  not 
listen  to  him.  They  are  a  lazy  voluj)tuous  set, 
and  the  position  of  a  priest  among  them  will 
necessarily  be  trying,  desolate,  and  sad.  Father 
Bivet  succeeded,  however,  in  putting  the  tem- 
poral concerns  of  the  mission  on  a  good  footing. 
The  governor  of  the  place  offers  his  help  to  se- 
cure to  a  resident  priest  $200  a  year,  which  sum 
the  government  allowed  to  Rev.  Rivet.  But  I 
would  rather  refuse  the  offer,  because  I  have  not 
the  least  doubt  that  the  allowance  is  hurtful  to 
the  freedom  of  religion,  as  but  too  plainly  ap- 

*  Letter  of  1806.     Baltimore  MSS. 


1806.]         LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NEEI^X'KX.  93 

pears  from  the  papers  left  in  the  house  of  the  de- 
ceased f)riest. 

"  Besides  these  residents,  there  are  two  Indian 
tribes,  the  Miamis  and  the  Lowps,  who  seem  to  be 
well-disposed  and  give  hopes  for  a  great  many 
conversions.  The  former,  a  very  populous  tribe, 
count  one  thousand  five  hundred  able-bodied 
warriors  ;  the  latter,  eight  hundred  souls.  The 
Loups  have  already  a  church,  in  which  they 
come  together  on  Sundays  and  holy  days,  to  have 
the  catechism  explained  to  them  by  two  laymen 
paid  for  the  purpose.  They  live  about  four  hun- 
dred miles  from  Yincennes  ;  the  Miamis  are  in 
their  vicinity.  I  have,  before  this,  ofPered  my- 
self for  any  of  their  missions,  if  agreeable  to  my 
superiors  ;  and  I  hereby  renew  my  offer  to  your 
Lordship,  although  I  must  acknowledge  that, 
notwithstanding  my  good  will  to  help  my  neigh- 
bor, I  should  rather  seek  a  solitude  in  which  to- 
pass  the  remainder  of  my  days  in  tears  and 
lamentations,  in  expectation  of  the  severe  judg- 
ment. Yet,  I  repeat  it  most  emphatically,  I 
would  even  insist  upon  my  being  sent  to  some  of 
these  abandoned  people,  were  it  not  that  I  am 
absolutely  unfit  for  the  position.  It  seems  also 
urgent  to  erect  a  Bishopric  in  some  of  these  mis- 
sions, in  order  to  put  a  stop  to  the  many  diffi- 
culties and  indecision  of  these  people,  who,  living 
at  such  an  enormous  distance  from  their  pastor, 
know  not  what  to  hold  as  right  or  wrong.  A 
Bishop  would  soon  set  all  things  to  right,  and  be- 
in  o;  here,  would  verv  soon  remove  all  the  obsta- 


94  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1805- 

cles  in  the  way  of  our  Holy  Faith,  and  be  better 
able  to  judge  what  means  would  be  the  best  and 
the  most  practical  to  foster  Religion," 

Upon  returning  to  St.  Stephen's,  Father  JSTer- 
inckx  found  a  letter  from  Bishop  Carroll,  con- 
veying the  sad  intelligence  of  the  death  of  Rev. 
Pe  Cuyper,  who  had  died  in  Georgetown,  whilst 
preparing  to  leave  for  Kentucliy.  This  was  a 
heavy  blow  to  the  zealous  priest,  who  had  set  his 
heart  upon  the  scheme  of  a  mission  of  his 
countrymen.  "  I  have  greatly  regretted,"  he 
writes  in  answer  to  the  Prelate,  June  2,  1806, 
"  the  loss  of  Rev.  De  Cuyper  to  myself  and 
people  ;  especially  so,  because  the  sad  occurrence 
is  likely  to  prevent  my  countrymen  from  under- 
taking the  journey ;  other  circumstances  seem, 
moreover,  to  foretell  that  all  my  endeavors  to 
establish  a  Belgian  mission  will  be  in  vain.  I 
Avould  never  have  presumed  to  conceive  the 
plan,  but  that  I  desired  to  profit,  in  as  much  as 
my  own  mediocrity  would  allow,  of  the  services 
of  men  seemingly  chosen  by  Almighty  God  for 
that  very  purpose.  But  it  is  the  work  of  God ; 
His  holy  will  be  done !  " 

Determined  to  leave  nothing  undone,  in  order 
to  secure  the  success  of  his  undertaking,  and  the 
lasting  benefit  of  an  able  and  numerous  body  of 
priests  to  the  Kentucky  mission,  he  again  wrote 
to  Belgium,  urging  his  friends  to  come  out  with- 
out delay.  "I  am  convinced,"  he  says,  "that 
no  priest,  who  has  any  of  the  zeal  of  his  vocation 
and  who  carefully  considers  our  position  here, 


1806.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLE.S  NERINCKX.  95 

can  in  any  way  get  rid  of  the  obligation  of,  I  do 
not  say  coming,  but  flying  to  our  help,  unless 
the  most  weighty  reasons  order  otherwise. 
However,  in  these,  our  days,  the  judgments  of 
God  on  his  Church  are  so  terrible  as  they  are 
wonderful.  So  many  regions  where  to  carry  the 
Gospel !  So  many  nations  ready  to  embrace  it, 
who  never  had  the  chance  to  do  so,  or  lost  it.  So 
many  priests  who  on  the  day  of  their  ordination 
received  the  Holy  Ghost,  with  the  injunction  of 
going  forth  and  baptizing ;  and  yet  trying  (but 
in  vain)  to  find  legitimate  excuses  to  justify  their 
sloth!  And  where  Religion  is  established,  so 
many  persons  so  very  indiiferent  to  it,  that  what 
is  left  of  it  is  scarcely  worthy  of  that  name! 
.  .  .  May  the  good  God,  always  merciful  in 
his  unfathomable  designs,  have  pity  on  our  poor 
and  needy  people,  and  vouchsafe  that  we  be  not 
numbered  among  the  condemned  crowd! 

"In  the  midst  of  such  painful  and  serious 
difficulties,  you  can  easily  imagine  what  dis- 
couraging thoughts  assail  me,  when,  in  my  rare 
moments  of  leisure,  I  ponder  over  the  present 
revolution,  sweeping  over  my  family  and  country ; 
but  especially  when  I  revert  my  thoughts  upon 
myself,  and  behold  so  poor  and  unfit  a  man,  with 
means  so  inadequate,  charged  with  so  great  and 
so  multifarious  duties,  in  the  midst  of  so  many 
perils,  without  hope  of  speedy  aid !  I  sometimes 
flattered  myself  with  the  hope  that  a  few,  at 
least,  would  come  to  this  country  to  work  for 
the  glory  of  God;   and  that  in  their  consoling 


96  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1S05- 

company  and  under  their  holy  guidance,  I  would 
be  enabled  to  commence  in  earnest,  correcting 
my  defects  and  amending  a  life  which  passes 
away  so  fast,  and  will  soon  be  mine  no  more. 
Yet  in  the  midst  of  those  gloomy  and  melancholy 
thoughts  and  trials,  the  good  God  is  so  merciful 
as  to  refresh  his  unworthy  servant  with  some 
glimmering  of  hope  and  consolation.  The  Rev. 
Vicar-general  Badin,  whom  I  live  with,  gives 
me  the  most  striking  proofs  of  an  uncommou  af- 
fection, and  urges  me  to  take  upon  myself  the 
administration  and  ow^nership  of  his  house  and 
land ;  but  my  affections  and  desires  were  never 
fixed  on  such  objects  heretofore,  nor  shall  they, 
I  trust,  now  take  possession  of  my  heart.  I  do 
uot  feel  at  all  like  coming  to  such  a  pass, 
although  I  can  scarcely  see  how  to  escape  the 
burden  of  that  extensive  and  heavy  congrega- 
tion, really  large  enough  for  four  or  five  earnest 
and  zealous  priests,  besides  remaining  at  the 
same  time  burdened  with  my  own.  If  I  make 
some  tiresome  rehearsals  of  my  extensive  labors, 
rest  assured  that  the  true  and  only  reason  is, 
that  some  may  be  moved  to  come,  in  person,  to 
our  aid,  and  that  the  other  virtuous  souls  who 
can  not  come,  may  address  the  most  fervent 
prayers  and  supplications  to  heaven,  to  obtain 
for  me,  in  my  bitter  need  and  sorrow,  graces  and 
help." 

We  will  have  occasion  to  refer  again,  in  the 
course  of  this  biography,  to  the  zeal  with  which 
Father  Nerinckx  worked  to  recruit  missionaries 


1806.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  97 

for  his  beloved  Kentucky.  His  was  indeed  a 
zeal  which  knew  no  bounds.  'Not  satisfied  with 
working  day  and  night  for  the  salvation  of  souls^ 
he  did  all  in  his  power  to  multiply  his  good 
works  by  inducing  others  to  do  the  same ;  and 
we  have  already  seen  that  he  was  the  first  to- 
think  of  asking  a  Bishop  for  Kentucky. 

Bishop  Carroll,  who  had  thought  of  Father 
Badin  for  that  responsible  position,  and  had  con- 
ceived a  very  high  opinion  of  the  virtue  and 
sound  judgment  of  Rev.  Nerinckx,  wrote  to  him 
asking  his  opinion  on  the  subject ;  and  the  hum- 
ble man  very  reluctantly  gave  it  in  the  fol- 
lowing letter,*  dated  June  2,  1806:  "It  is  but 
right,  if  it  can  be  done,  that  a  man  be  chosen,, 
acquainted  with  the  country  and  with  the  cus- 
toms of  the  people,  like  the  one  the  selection  of 
whom  your  Lordship  submitted  to  my  judgment.. 
His  science,  in  both  human  and  divine  letters, 
seems  to  me  to  be  above  the  mediocre,  and  it 
would,  without  a  doubt,  be  much  greater  and 
deeper  if  time  and  occupation  allowed  him  to- 
improve  it.  He  has  good  reasoning  powers,  fair 
judgment,  and  prudence.  I  believe  him  to  be 
sound  in  doctrine  and  ready  to  listen  to  the  de- 
cision of  a  superior.  His  zeal  is  more  than  suf- 
ficiently known ;  it  has,  perhaps,  a  little  too 
much  of  the  French  fervor,  is  of  more  than  nec- 
essary rigidity,  and,  if  tempered  with  a  little  of 
the  honey  of  kindness,  would  be  more  palatabla- 

*  Baltimore  MSS. 


98  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1805- 

to  his  people  and  more  successful  in  curing  in- 
veterate sinners  and  loathsome  wounds.  This 
is  the  reason  he  is  not  so  universally  liked,  al- 
though it  is  also  to  be  acknowledged  that  some 
of  the  less  pious  i^eople  are  difficult  to  deal  with, 
indocile,  ungrateful,  lax  and  without  manners, 
quarrelsome,  and  indifferent  to  Religion,  the 
very  name  of  which  they  cause  to  be  blasphemed. 
He  handles  temporal  aifairs  smartly  enough ;  he 
loves  piety,  from  the  exercise  of  which  he  is  per- 
haps a  little  prevented  because  of  his  love  for  so- 
ciety, which  he  has,  however,  rarely  frequented 
since  my  arrival.  If,  however,  he  does  not  re- 
fuse invitations  with  as  much  reluctance  as  I 
would,  he  does  it  because  of  the  good  he  hopes 
from  them  .  .  .  These  are  the  things  I  have 
been  able  to  note  down,  and  which  need  not 
keep  him  away  from  that  terrible  ministry 
.  .  .  For  the  rest,  I  do  not  know  of  any  one 
more  fit  for  the  place  .  .  .  But  I  beg  of  your 
Lordship  that  my  opinion  in  the  matter  should 
have  as  little  weight  as  possible." 

Writing,  in  1807,  on  the  same  subject  to  a 
friend,*  Rev.  Nerinckx  gives  the  following 
rather  racy  and  graphic  sketch  of  old  Father 
Badin,  at  that  time  in  the  bloom  of  his  years : 
"  Kentucky  has  not  yet  its  Bishop,  and  our  peo- 
ple are  very  desirous  to  know  who  he  will  be. 
A  great  many  conjectures  are  made.  Many  are 
of  opinion  that  my  host,  the  Yicar-general,  may 
be  appointed,  in  which  case  my  burden  would, 

*  Rev.  Nerinckx'  autograph. 


]S06.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  99 

if  possible,  be  doubled.  In  fact,  I  would  then 
be  obliged  to  assume  his  congregation,  which  is 
two  thousand  strong.  Even  now  he  urges  me 
to  do  so,  so  that  he  might  visit  the  more  distant 
stations,  a  thing  also  very  necessary.  The 
Vicar-general  Badin  is  a  Frenchman,  born  in 
Orleans,  thirty-nine  years  of  age,  of  small  stat- 
ure, well-built,  of  pleasant  character,  good 
morals,  and  great  piety;  gray,  strong,  and 
healthy,  standing  the  hardships  of  missionary 
life  well,  the  first  priest  ordained  by  the  Bishop 
of  Baltimore,  well  qualified  for  business  affairs, 
and,  in  my  own  opinion,  for  the  Episcopal  dig- 
nity, and,  so  to  say,  the  founder  of  the  church  in 
Kentucky." 

That  Father  Badin  was  not  appointed,  was 
perhaps  due  to  the  fact,  that  he,  himself,  went 
to  Baltimore  in  the  Spring  of  1807,  and  recom- 
mended for  the  position.  Rev.  Benedict  Joseph 
Flaget,  a  distinguished  Sulpician,  of  burning 
zeal  and  tender  piety,  who  had  come  with  him  to 
America,  in  1792,  and  who,  having  attended 
Post  Vincennes  until  1794,  and  spent  sixteen 
years  on  the  American  mission,  seemed  to  him 
fitted,  in  a  particular  manner,  for  the  trying  of- 
fice of  the  Episcopacy  in  this  j^ioneer  country. 
Subsequent  events  proved  Father  Badin's  choice 
to  be  as  wise  as  Father  JN'erinckx'  might  have 
proved  to  be. 


CHAPTER  yil. 

1805-1807. 
The  Trappists. — Fathbe.  Nerinckx  foresees  their  failure. — His 

DESIRE    TO   JOIN   THEM. — OBEDIENCE    BETTER    THAN    SACRIFICE. — St. 

Stephen's. — Holt  Mary's. — Bells. — Church  furniture. — Dan- 
ville.— St.  Charles'  church. — State  of  the  Catholic  Church  in 
Kentucky  in  1807. — Rev.  Nerinckx'  bodily  sufferings. — His 
missionary  field  of  labor. 

The  Trappists,  whom  Father  Nerinckx  had 
left  on  the  banks  of  the  Ohio,  in  his  eager- 
ness to  reach  his  destination,  arrived  in  Ken- 
tucky in  the  Fall  of  1805,  They  temporarily 
settled  at  the  foot  of  Rohan's  Knob,  on  Pottin- 
ger's  Creek,  about  a  mile  from  the  church  of 
Holy  Cross. 

"  The  Trappists,"  writes  Father  Nerinckx  in 
November,  1805,  "have  had  a  sad  and  expen- 
sive journey ;  most  of  them  have  been  sick,  and 
two,  to  whom  I  gave  the  last  Sacraments  have 
died  in  their  present  residence.  They  are: 
Father  Basil,  who  had  been  appointed  prior,  a 
man  of  great  holiness,  formerly  a  canon  in 
France,  and  Father  Dominic  who  had  been  a 
Carthusian.  The  others  are  all  convalescent  or 
entirely  well.     Had   I    remained  with  them,  I 

(100) 


1805-7.]      LIFE  OF  KEY.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  101 

would  have  arrived  here  about  a  month  and  a 
half  later,  and  most  likely  sick  with  the  same 
fever.  They  are  now  four  priests,  among  whom 
my  traveling  companion,  four  lay  brothers,  and 
some  students  and  children.  They  are  poorly 
situated ;  St.  Bernard  will  have  to  help  them, 
for,  in  my  opinion.  Father  Urban,  their  Superior, 
is  not  the  man  in  the  right  place.  Owing  to 
sickness,  they  did  not  yet  determine  upon  a 
place  of  settlement.  I  gave  them  a  relic  of  St. 
Bernard." 

The  Fathers  remained  on  Pottinger's  Creek 
until  the  early  spring  of  1807,  when  "during 
the  severest  spell  of  an  extremely  cold  winter 
which  had  set  in  before  Christmas,  thirteen 
Trappists  left  our  neighborhood,"  writes  Father 
Nerinckx,  "to  settle  on  a  part  of  a  tract  of  land 
(in  Casey  county),  which,  if  I  am  not  mistaken, 
they  bought  at  $2.00  an  acre.  Among  them  are 
three  Belgians :  Mr.  Douche,  a  pastor  of  the 
Diocese  of  Bruges,*  and  two  lay-brothers,  one 
from  the  environs  of  Ghent,  the  other  from  Thie- 
nen.f      There   is    also    among   them   a  worthy 

*He  was  a  very  learned  Canon  of  Bruges  and  joined  the  Trap- 
pists in  Darfeld. 

f  One  of  these  was  Henry  Rysselman,  who  remained  with  the 
Trappists  until  they  broke  up  their  establishment  at  the  "  Monk's 
Mound,"  in  1813,  to  return  to  their  monastery  in  France,  when 
he  went  to  Georgetown  College,  and  joined  the  Jesuits,  among 
whom  he  died,  June  30,  1857.  He  often  spoke  of  his  sojourn 
with  the  Trappists  in  Casey  county,  in  1809.  Archbishop  S{)ald- 
ing  does  not  mention  the  Casey  county  establishment.  Mr. 
John  Wethington,  a  reliable  gentlemen  whose  father  settled  on 
€asey  Creek  about  the  year  1802,  states  that  many  old  people  of 


102  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NEPJNCKX.         [ISOo- 

Canaclian  pastor.  The  Superior  who  accompa- 
nied them  is  a  young  man  of  holy  life,  although 
once  a  soldier.  His  name  is  Father  Marie  Jo- 
seph. He  was  a  grenadier  during  the  French 
Revolution,  and,  having  orders  to  shoot  a  priest, 
he  refused  to  do  so,  and  fled  from  the  army  to 
become  a  religious.* 

"  Other  lands  have  been  oflfered  gratis  to  the 
Trappists,  but  they  did  not  accept  of  them, 
either  because  of  the  bad  situation  or  for  other 
reasons  best  known  to  themselves.  They  will 
be  established  about  forty  miles  from  us,  and 
will  be  obliged  to  open  a  new  clearing  of  between 
seven  and  eight  miles  long  in  the  wilderness. 
They  hope  that  new  colonies  will  join  them 
from  Europe,  and  it  is  even  rumored  that  their 
Abbot  intends  to  come  to  our  regions."  f 

Trained  in  the  school  of  strict  seminarian 
discipline,  and  purified,  like  gold,  in  the  fire  of 
adversity    and    persecution,    Father    Nerinckx 

that  county  still  remember  when  the  Trappist  monks  were 
there. 

*  Father  Marie  Joseph  Dunand,  the  Trappist  prior,  remained 
in  America  after  his  brethren  had  returned  to  Europe.  He  first 
attended  the  missions  west  of  the  Mississippi,  and  resided  at  St. 
Charles,  Mo.,  where  Bishop  Flaget  visited  him  in  July,  1814. 
Accustomed  to  the  strict  discipline  of  the  Trappist  convent, 
Father  Dunand  was  often  at  war  with  his  rather  lukewarm  flock. 
He  afterward  had  charge  of  the  congregation  at  Florissant,  un- 
til about  1820,  when  Rev.  Lacroix  (see  infra)  was  appointed  to 
succeeded  him,  on  account  of  dissensions  among  the  people  which 
the  former  could  not  settle.  The  prior  returned  to  France  that 
same  year. 

fAutograph  letter  of  Rev.  Nerinckx  to  his  parents,  dated 
February,  1S07. 


18U7]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHAELES  ^'ERINCKX.  lOS 

found  an  especial  attraction  in  the  rigid  and 
penitential  life  of  the  Sons  of  St.  Bernard,  who, 
striving  for  perfection,  deprived  themselves  of 
all  the  transient  pleasures  of  this  world,  in  order 
to  secure  the  crown  of  eternal  life.  His  was  a 
reticent  and  serious  nature,  which  would  have 
delighted  in  the  solitude  of  a  cloister  or  a 
Thebais,  but  which,  on  that  very  account,  fitted 
him  all  the  better  for  the  ungrateful  work  of  our 
early  missions.  It  would  sustain  him  against 
the  lack  of  human  consolations,  and  prove  his 
salvation,  where  others  w^ith  more  sociable  dis- 
positions, and  more  brilliant  qualifications  of 
mind,  would  not  have  been  able  to  bear  the  hard- 
ships and  disappointments,  and  would  have 
given  up  the  contest.  Many  need  the  salutary 
restraints  of  a  conventual  life,  which,  because 
it  deprives  them  of  their  own  will,  securely 
directs  them  in  the  path  of  religious  perfection 
and  scientific  pursuit,  where  they  shine  forth 
with  undiminished  luster ;  left  to  their  own  un- 
restrained impulses,  they  would  soon  swerve 
from  the  royal,  but  thorny,  w^ay,  to  follow  the 
broad  and  flowery  road  that  leads  to  perdition. 
The  sad  experience  of  our  own  days  was  not 
needed,  to  prove  the  failure  of  some  monastic 
men,  whom  conventual  discipline  and  vows  had 
forced  into  a  well-earned  prominence  ;  in  their 
convents  they  were  examples  of  religious  perfec- 
tion to  their  less  gifted  brethren,  but,  as  soon  as 
they  freed  themselves  from  the  salutary  yoke, 
they  fell  from  the  zenith  of  their  grandeur,  to 


104  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1805- 

sink,  despised,  into  merited  oblivion.  The  glit- 
tering meteor  shooting  away  from  the  heavenly 
firmament  which  sets  forth  its  splendor,  soon 
merges  in  vapory  nothingness,  or  falls  to  the 
earth  a  blackened  areolite.  We  greatly  admire 
the  neatly  trimmed  vessels,  which,  rounded  off 
in  soft  contours  and  pleasing  lines,  stately  and 
securely  glide  on  the  smooth  waters  of  our  in- 
land bays ;  they  do  well  in  their  place,  keeping 
in  shore,  or  sailing  along  on  the  broad  bosom  of 
the  great  rivers.  But  woe  to  them  if  they  ven- 
ture out  ui)OTi  the  open  sea !  Before  the  angry 
waves  have  a  chance  to  hurl  them  into  the 
bottomless  abyss  of  the  deep,  the  breakers  on 
the  coast  display  the  sad  wreck  of  their  once 
noble  hull.  Men,  world-renowned,  in  the  haven 
of  a  convent,  have  had  their  reputation  dashed 
to  pieces  on  the  fog-concealed  rocks  besetting 
the  raging  sea  of  sad  life  in  the  world.  But, 
Father  Nerinckx,  how  much  soever  inclined  to 
profit  by  the  cloister's  j^rotecting  safeguard, 
stood  not  in  need  of  it  to  protect  his  virtue,  or  aid 
his  progress  in  the  science  of  the  Saints.  Like  a 
stanch  ship,  the  bold  outlines  of  which,  less 
pleasing  to  the  e^^e,  but  hiding  within  their 
rugged  forms  beams  strong  and  firm,  bespeak 
her  strength  against  the  most  violent  outbursts 
of  the  Atlantic  storms,  he  could  safely  brave  the 
tempest,  and  battle  successfully  against  wind 
and  waves. 

Our  missionary  was  too  much  needed  in  the 
missions  to  think  of  securing  his  own  salvation, 


1807.]         LIFE  OF  KEV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  105 

whilst  seemingly  neglecting  that  of  others,  who 
were  famishing  for  want  of  spiritual  food.  He 
was  imbued  with  too  much  of  the  spirit  of  zeal 
which  animated  St  Ignatius,  to  take  to  the  life- 
Iboat  when  a  pilot  was  needed  at  the  wheel ;  and, 
upon  the  advice  of  Bishop  Carroll  to  whom  he 
had  written  on  the  subject,  and  who  did  not  ap- 
prove of  his  entering  a  religious  house,  he  gener- 
erously  sacrificed  his  own  inclinations  to  the 
welfare  of  his  flock.  "I  must  acknowledge,"  he 
writes,*  "  that  the  manner  of  living  of  the  Trap- 
pists  has  touched  me  in  so  far,  that  hardly  any 
thing  but  the  great  scarcity  of  priests  to  attend 
to  the  wants  of  the  catholics,  withholds  me  from 
asking  a  place  among  them.  Happy  men,  in- 
deed, who,  notwithstanding  the  sneers  of  a  world 
full  of  deceit,  know  how  to  find  charms  in  tribu- 
lation, joy  in  sufi'ering,  wealth  in  poverty,  and  an 
abundance  of  all  things  where  the  blinded 
worldlings  not  even  deign  to  cast  a  glance. 
When  you  see  and  study  their  lives,  you  think 
you  have  finally  found  the  infallible  means  of  se- 
curing the  salvation  of  your  soul.  What  holy 
and  modest  joy  do  you  not  read  in  their  counte- 
ance !  How  eloquent  is  their  silence  !  How 
heart-stirring  their  chant !  In  a  word,  how 
violently  and  sweetly  does  their  whole  mode  ^of 
life  attract  you !  Vere  kaec  est  generatio  quaeren- 
tium  Dominum!     ..." 

JSTo  wonder  if  Father  N^erinckx  deplored  the 
removal  of  these  men,  whom  he  looked  up  to  as 

*  Father  Nerinckx'  autograph  letter.     Sup.  C'd 


106  I^IFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1805- 

the  very  models  of  christian  perfection,  and 
whose  way  of  living  naturally  made  them  his 
friends.  Being  accustomed  to  sacrifice  his  own 
likings  to  the  good  of  religion,  he  deplored  it  es- 
pecially because,  with  his  usual  keen  perception 
and  bright  intellectual  foresight,  the  man  of  God 
anticipated  that  no  good  would  come  from  that 
continual  change  of  place.  In  his  estimation, 
men  who  made  perfection  their  daily  business 
should  have  relied  more  on  the  providence  of 
God,  and  less  on  the  beauty  of  situation  or  fer- 
tility of  soil,  than  the  over-zealous  Father  Ur- 
ban did.  In  his  anxiety  to  secure  a  favorable 
and  permanent  establishment  for  his  community, 
this  good  man  was  constantly  on  the  road  and 
away  from  his  convent,  and  his  brethren  could 
not  but  suffer  from  the  protracted  absences  of 
their  Superior.  The  fact  that  they  were  to  com- 
mence a  new  foundation  without  the  presence  of 
their  prelate  to  enforce  the  rules,  and  to  instill 
into  them,  from  the  very  beginning,  the  spirit  of 
fervor,  which  the  difficulties  of  a  new  establish- 
ment must  necessarily  have  rendered  very  hard 
to  foster,  was  surely  no  help  to  maintain  the 
strictness  of  the  institute,  and  must  have 
suggested  many  and  seemingly  plausible  ex- 
cuses not  to  enforce  it.  Rev.  Nerinckx  wrote  in 
that  sense,  to  Bishop  Carroll  in  1806,  a  letter* 
which  he  sent  to  him  through  Father  Urban: 
"  The  affairs  of  the  Trappists  are  improving 
slowly  enough.     I  fear  the  ruin  of  that  Congre- 

*  Baltimore  MSS. 


1807.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  107 

gation,  unless  they  receive  reinforcements  of 
men  and  money,  both  of  which  are  promised 
from  Belgium.  It  seems  to  me  that  it  would 
succeed  better,  if,  as  I  suggested  several  times  to 
him,  Rev.  Urban  commenced  from  humble  foun- 
dations, and  were  not  so  over-anxious  about  the 
selection  of  a  convenient  spot.  I  am  afraid  that 
his  continual  excursions  will  drain  all  his  re- 
sources, besides  being  very  prejudicial  to  the 
good  name  and  fame  of  the  Trappists." 

But  the  Rev.  Urban  did  not  wish  to  listen  to 
the  disinterested  suggestions  of  the  missionary. 
Scarcely  had  the  prior.  Father  Marie  Joseph, 
settled  his  little  band  in  Casey  county,  when 
his  superior,  busy  as  ever  in  quest  of  better 
quarters,  arrived  at  the  monastery  with  the  un- 
welcome intelligence  of  another  removal.  He 
had  obtained  from  Bishop  Carroll  the  pastoral 
care  of  the  catholics  scattered  on  both  sides  of 
the  Mississippi,  and  came  to  break  up  the  new 
establishment. 

This  news  was  a  terrible  blow  to  the  earnest 
and  energetic  Father  Marie  Joseph,  and  helped 
no  doubt  the  determination  he  came  to,  when 
the  Trappist  establishment  was  again  broken  up 
in  1813  and  transplanted  back  to  France,  to 
sever  his  connection  with  so  fickle  a  superior 
and  to  remain  in  the  American  mission.  That 
he  had  reason  to  regret  the  step  of  his  superior, 
although,  like  a  true  religious,  he  did  not  ques- 
tion its  propriety,  clearly  appears  from  one  of 


108  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1805- 

Father  Nerinckx'  letters,*  describing  the  result 
of  the  poor  prior's  zeal,  as  early  as  the  Summer 
of  1807 :  "I  lately  visited  my  St.  Bernard's 
parish,  and  stopped  over  night  with  the  admira- 
ble monks  of  La  Trappe.  They  own  around 
there,  thirty-four  miles  from  the  priests'  land 
(so  people  call  Father  Badin's  plantation),  about 
one  thousand  five  hundred  acres,  which  cost 
them  on  an  average  $4.00  an  acre.  That  terri- 
tory belonged  to  Holy  Mary's  parish,  but  it  has 
been  erected  into  a  distinct  mission,  called  St. 
Bernard's.  Part  of  that  large  Trappist  farm  is 
very  good  land,  well  situated,  cut  by  several 
streams  and  a  rather  wide  brook,  upon  the  banks 
of  which  they  are  already  erecting  a  saw-mill — 
a  good  illustration  of  what  early  monks  have 
<lone— they  do  all  the  work  among  themselves. 
They  have  received  two  novices — an  Irishman 
and  an  American ;  and  news  has  reached  them 
that  five  Canadian  priests  intend  to  join  them. 

"  I  found  fourteen  members  in  the  community, 
lodged  in  a  double  frame  cabin  about  as  large 
as  a  ten-horse  stable.  That  structure,  which 
hardly  keeps  out  the  rain,  is  dormitory,  refec- 
tory, and  church  ;  a  space  is  set  apart  for  the 
lay  brothers,  and  there  is  a  small  apartment  for 
storing  provisions,  in  which  I  lodged  with  my 
guide.  The  Fathers  and  Brothers  sleep  on  the 
bare  floor;  I  had  a  bag  of  oats  to  rest  upon. 
They  retire  at  eight  p.  m.,  after  many  long  and 
edifying   evening   jjrayers.      They  rise   at   one 

*  Letter  of  Rev.  Nerinckx,  in  the  BoUandist  Library,  Brussels. 


1807.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  109 

o'clock  A.  M.,  and  spend  the  time  until  four, 
singing  the  Office,  saying  Mass,  reciting  prayers, 
etc.,  when  they  go  out  to  work.  They  do  not 
break  their  fast  until  twelve  a.  m.,  and  on  fast 
days,  and  during  Lent,  until  three  p.  m. 

"Father  Urban,  the  Trappist  Superior,  is 
often  our  guest,  and  Mr.  Badin  has  been  a  great 
help  to  him.  I  gave  the  last  Sacraments  to  two 
of  his  companions,  in  our  house,  a  few  hours  be- 
fore their  death.  He  expects  some  new  arrivals 
from  Europe. 

"  These  Trappists  have  adopted  over  twenty 
children  from  the  best  class  of  our  catholics, 
whom  they  bind  themselves  to  educate  and  to 
keep  until  their  twenty-first  year  without  any 
compensation.  They  leave  them  free  to  learn  a 
trade,  or  to  take  up  the  studies  they  have  the 
most  inclination  for,  and  we  anticipate  great  fruit 
to  Church  and  state  from  that  good  work;  I  have 
closely  watched  their  manner  of  life,  and  I  felt 
a  longing  desire  to  join  them,  .  .  .  but  the 
Bishop  of  Baltimore,  whom  I  blindly  obey,  or- 
ders me  not  to  exchange  the  useful  work  of  the 
secular  ministry  for  a  penitential  solitude.  ..." 

^0  wonder,  therefore,  if  Father  Nerinckx, 
alarmed  at  Rev.  Urban's  fickleness,  wrote  again 
to  Bishop  Carroll,  in  March,  1808:*  "I  under- 
stand that  Rev.  Wouters  was  very  desirous  of 
coming  out  to  me,  a  thing  which  is  just  now  im- 
possible, since  he  joined  the  Society  (of  Jesus). 
I  love  the  Society  sincerely,  and  I  believe  that 

*  Baltimore  MSS. 


110  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1805- 

you  are  in  great  want  of  priests  there,  but  I  can 
not  admit  that  you  are  in  greater  need  than  we 
are  here.  As  to  my  idea  of  leading  a  cenobitical 
or  retired  life,  away  from  the  inevitable  and 
real  perils  of  the  ministry,  I  have  not  given  it 
up.  But,  owing  to  your  counsels,  I  have  set  it 
aside  for  the  present,  convinced  that  obedience 
is  better  than  sacrifice.  In  the  second  place, 
because  the  want  of  priests  is  so  real,  that  it  is, 
perhaps,  better  for  this  mission  to  have  one  like 
me  than  none  at  all.  Thirdly  (and  I  am  very 
sorry  to  have  to  state  it),  because  that  so  justly, 
and  so  universally,  celebrated  congregation  of 
Trappists  is  just  now  in  a  very  alarming  condition. 
Their  temporal  affairs  are  so  badly  managed  or 
so  persistently  upset  by  adverse  circumstances, 
that,  in  the  opinion  of  prudent  men,  the  institu- 
tion must  necessarily  fall  to  the  ground,  unless 
it  be  upheld  by  miracles.  If  they  were  prudent 
managers,  they  would  surely  act  otherwise  than 
they  do.  The  breaking  up  of  this  convent  will 
undoubtedly  prove  disastrous  not  only  to  the 
Order  itself,  but  also  to  Religion  ;  a  sad  prophecy 
which  I  gave  already  utterance  to,  when,  being 
your  Lordship's  guest  in  Georgetown,  I  re- 
marked that  I  could  not  think  of  any  other  rem- 
edy against  the  threatening  evil,  but  to  provide 
a  more  prudent  head  for  that  body.  I  do  not 
know  whether  I  should,  or  can,  be  more  definite ; 
but  my  assertions  can  be  easily  proved,  and 
authentic  information  will  perhaps  be  sent  to 
your  Lordship  by  the  proper  men." 


1807.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  Ill 

However,  Father  Urban  carried  out  Ms  plans, 
and  "on  the  third  Sunday  after  Easter,  1809, 
the  Trappists  embarked,  leaving  in  Kentucky  a 
very  small  suite  with  Rev.  Urban,  who  intended 
to  follow  them  in  the  fall."*  They  ascended  the 
Mississippi  river  from  Cairo  in  row-boats,  and 
entering  the  Missouri  river  they  landed  near  the 
Charbonniere,  about  ten  miles  above  the  conflu- 
ence of  the  Missouri  with  the  Mississippi. 
They  crossed  the  bluffs  and  settled  in  the  village 
of  Florissant,  which  is  two  miles  from  their 
place  of  landing,  and  in  the  direction  of  St. 
Louis.  Here,  Mr.  John  Mullanphy,  an  Irish 
gentleman  who  had  moved  to  Missouri  from 
Frankfort,  Ky.,  a  few  years  previous  to  their  ar- 
rival, generously  gave  them  the  use  of  his  own 
residence,  which  had  formerly  been  the  dwelling 
of  the  Spanish  Intendente  or  Governor.  It  was 
then  the  largest  and  best  built  house  of  that  re- 
gion, being  made  of  cedar  logs  planted  upright 
on  sleepers  and  braced  together,  and  it  con- 
tained three  large  rooms.  When  torn  down 
some  eight  years  ago  its  timbers  were  still  per- 
fectly sound. 

Shortly  after  their  arrival,  the  monks  pur- 
chased a  farm  in  "  Looking-Grlass  Prairie,"  Illi- 
nois, including  the  two  finest,  out  of  a  system  of 
more  than  forty  Indian  mounds  on  Cahokia, 
Creek.  They  moved  from  Florissant  to  this 
farm  in  1810  and  settled  on  the  smaller  of  the 
two   mounds   purchased  by  them,  where   they 

*  Letter  of  Father  Nerinckx,  May  25,  1809. 


112  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1805- 

erected  temporary  cabins,  intending  to  build  an 
abbey  on  the  larger  mound  to  the  east,  at  a  later 
time ;  it  is  the  latter  mound,  on  the  now  Collins- 
ville  plank-road,  six  miles  from  the  east  end  of 
the  great  bridge  over  the  Mississippi  at  St. 
Louis,  and  one  mile  from  Indian  Lake,  which  is, 
to  this  day,  called  "  Monk's  Mound."  But  sick- 
ness rapidly  decimated  their  numbers,  and  the 
restless  Superior  finally  started  back  to  France, 
in  1813,  with  the  few  survivors  who  were  willing 
to  follow  him  in  this  his  last  peregrination. 
Several  members  of  the  Order  remained  in 
America;  Father  Marie  Joseph  Dunand,  the 
prior,  accepted  care  of  souls  in  St.  Charles'  con- 
gregation, Missouri ;  Brother  Rysselman  joined 
the  Jesuits,  and  the  other  Belgian  brother  went 
to  Bardstown,  where  he  followed  his  trade  as  a 
clockmaker. 

Father  I^erinckx  had  hoped  that  the  Trappists 
might  help  Rev.  Badin  and  himself  in  the  min- 
isterial duties  of  the  mission  wdiich  was  commit- 
ted to  their  care  ;  hence,  he  had  hailed  their  ad- 
vent in  the  wilds  of  Kentucky  with  great  de- 
light. Seeing  that  his  hopes  in  that  direction 
were  to  be  partially  frustrated  now,  and,  in  his 
opinion,  totally  so  at  no  distant  future,  he 
bravely  settled  down  to  work  with  his  accus- 
tomed energy. 

As  has  been  stated  in  a  previous  chapter, 
Rev.  Nerinckx  arrived  at  St.  Stephen's,  Marion 
county,  on  the  18th  of  July,  1805.  Father 
Badin  received   him  with   open   arms,  and  re- 


1807.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  Hg 

quested  him  to  make  his  house  his  own,  so  that 
they  might  work  with  more  harmony  and  system 
for  the  general  good  of  the  widely  scattered  mis- 
sions.    The  request  was  readily  complied  with. 
St.  Stejiheiis^  so  called  from  the  small  domestic 
chapel  which  Father  Badin  had  erected  in  his 
log  cabin  in  honor  of  his  patron  Saint,  may  well 
be  looked  upon  as  the  cradle  of  catholicity  in  Ken- 
tucky.    Here  the  veteran  apostles  of  Kentucky, 
Stephen  T.  Badin,  the  first  priest  ever  ordained 
in  the  United  States,  at  the  hands  of  the  noble 
and  patriotic  John  Carrol],  its  first  Bishop,  and 
Charles  Nerinckx,  the  intrepid   pioneer,  resided 
for  many  years.      From   here   shone  forth   the 
supernatural  light  of  faith  which  was  to  illumi- 
nate the  whole  North-west.     From  here  flowed 
all  the  spiritual  graces  which,  in  as  many  years 
as  it  took  centuries  in  the  Old  World,  worked 
miracles  in  the  hearts  of  men,  and  made  of  "the 
dark  and  bloody  ground  "   the  most  lovely  re- 
gion of  the  New  World,  covering  the  sloping 
sides  of  its  hills,  and   the  fertile  clearings  of  its 
primeval  forests,  like  unto  a  crown  studded  with 
jewels,  with  numerous  convents,  where  pure  and 
holy  virgins,  the  first  and  native  fruits  of  the  pro- 
lific zeal  of  its  apostles,  offered  to  the  Lord  God 
their  sanctified  vigils  and  pious  prayers.     Here, 
the  Patriarch  of  the  West,  the  gentle  and  holy 
Benedict  Joseph  Flaget,  the  first  Bishop  of  Ken- 
tucky, having   like   his    Divine   Master,  not   a 
stone  whereon  to  repose  his  head,  made  his  place 


114  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1805- 

of  abode  for  many  a  month.  Here  he  com- 
menced a  theological  seminary,  consisting  of 
two  rooms,  which  Father  Badin  shared  with  the 
Bishop  and  his  brother  priests,  and  a  loft  or 
attic  which  the  poorly-fed  and  overworked  stu- 
dents crowded  at  night,  to  catch  a  few  hours' 
rest  from  the  bodily  and  mental  toils  of  the  well- 
spent  day.  Here  stands  to  this  day,  on  the  very 
spot  where  its  venerable  Founder  first  dwelled, 
the  Mother-house  of  Loretto,  destined  to  keep 
sacred  the  virgin  soil  their  Father  first  trod,  and 
to  perpetuate  the  designs  of  Providence  upon  it, 
laj  sending  from  its  walls  colony  upon  colony  of 
devoted  sisters,  to  shed  the  light  of  faith  upon 
the  children  of  the  far  Western  wilderness. 

Within  the  first  year  of  his  residence  at  St. 
Stephen's,  Father  JSTerinckx  took  possession  of 
the  house  at  Eolij  Mary's  of  the  Rolling  Fork, 
the  property  of  which  Rev.  Badin  had  conveyed 
to  him  notwithstanding  his  reiterated  refusals.* 
As  stated  in  a  previous  chapter,  a  farm  of 
ninety-four  acres  had  been  purchased  there  by 
Father  Fournier,  and  he  had  made  it  his  resi- 
dence. "At  the  Rolling  Fork,"  writes  Father 
iN'erinckx,  in  November,  1805,  "  there  is  a  frame 
house  two  stories  high,  provided  with  two  brick 
chimneys,  an  uncommon  feature  around  here. 
This  house  and  three  or  four  frame  shanties 
were  built  at  the  expense  of  Rev.  Fournier,  who 
lived  here  but  six  years.     A  farm  of  ninety-four 

*  Father  Nerinckx'  autograph  letter  to  his  parents,  dated 
1807. 


1807.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  115 

acres,  a  third  of  which  is  cleared,  belongs  to  this 
mission.  A  poor  old  man,  who  seeks  to  live 
with  me,  oifers  me  about  ninety-four  acres  more, 
and  the  parishioners  are  willing  to  help  me  to 
clear  jDart  of  it.  As  yet  there  is  no  church ;  but, 
hearing  that  I  intended  to  settle  there,  the  peo- 
ple hastened  to  put  up,  near  the  bend  in  tlie 
river,  a  frame  building,  about  the  site  of  which 
they  had  been  long  disputing.  This  mission 
numbers  about  four  hundred  souls.  ...  I  have 
changed  the  name  of  the  church  at  the  Rolling 
Pork  to  that  of  Holy  Mary,  on  the  feast  of  the 
Holy  jN'ame  of  Mary  [September,  1805],  and  en- 
riched it  with  a  relic  of  the  Blessed  Virgin." 

Father  IN'erinckx  began  the  erection  of  a  new 
church,  the  first  placed  under  the  invocation  of 
the  Blessed  Virgin  in  Kentucky,  as  soon  as  he 
had  taken  up  his  residence  at  the  Fork,  thus 
dedicating  to  the  Holy  Mother,  whom  he  so  ten- 
derly loved,  his  first  work  in  the  New  World.* 
"  On  the  15th  of  JN'ovember,  1805,"  he  writes,t 
"just  one  year  having  elapsed  since  my  arrival 
in  America,  I  had  the  happiness  of  laying  the 
corner-stone  of  Holy  Mary's  church.  Eternal 
thanks  to  our  Blessed  Mother  for  that  event, 
which  more  than  repays  the  long-forgotten  diffi- 
culties that  I  went  through  during  my  tiresome 
journey.  If  I  can  meet  the  expense,  I  intend 
to  build  an  addition  of  three  rooms  to  that 
church,  and   I   trust  that   some   good  Flemish 

*Rev.  Nerinckx'  last  will,  dated  1820. 

t  MSS.  Letter,  begun  September,  1805,  and  ended  May  16,  1806. 


116  LIFE  OF  EEV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1805- 

priests  will  come  to  my  help ;  when  once  here, 
they  can  either  remain  and  work  with  me,  or  go 
further  in  the  country.  However,  times  are 
hard.  Money  is  so  scarce,  that  I  can  not  collect 
the  amount  necessary  for  the  purchase  of  lum- 
ber ;  yet,  $50  will  cover  the  bill.  The  church 
will  cost  about  $400,  which  I  intend  to  pay  in 
kind.  Lumber  costs  next  to  nothing ;  but  iron 
is  not  used,  not  even  on  doors ;  these  last  turn 
on  wooden  hinges  and  are  provided  with  wooden 
latches ;  a  common  carpenter  earns  a  dollar  a 
day.  Glass  is  more  expensive  ;  I  am  asked  $1.00 
for  four  common-sized  window  panes.  .  .  . 
There  being  little  money,  people  pay  in  trade, 
and  the  current  coins  are  cut  up  and  divided  in 
pieces  to  suit  value  and  exigencies  of  business. 

"  So  far,  this  mission  is  poor,  and  the  country 
very  sparsely  settled ;  but  I  trust  that,  with 
help  and  time,  it  will  become  self-sustaining. 
Bordering  on  one  of  the  most  populous  catholic 
congregations  of  Kentucky,  Holy  Mary's  must 
grow  and  would  be  a  desirable  site  for  a  com- 
munity of  priests,  whence  we  could  attend 
to  distant  missions.  However,  if  I  receive  suf- 
ficient help,  I  intend  to  begin  a  new  missionary 
settlement  with  over  fifty  families  who  are 
ready  to  follow  me  at  an}"  time. 

"  The  statue  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  that  I 
brought  from  Belgium,  will  be  placed  in  floly 
Mary's  church.  A  young  lady  convert,  who- 
gains  her  living  by  her  handiwork,  was  so  taken 
up  with  that  statue,  that  she  gave  to  the  church 


1S07.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHAELES  NERINCKX.  117 

a  fine  linen  alb,  the  material  of  which  she  had 
bought  for  a  new  dress." 

The  families  which  were  the  most  numerous 
and  influential  at  the  Rolling  Fork  were  the 
Spaldings  and  Abels.  Father  Deparcq,  Rev. 
JSTerinckx'  countryman  and  successor,  subse- 
quently rebuilt  the  church  of  brick. 

About  this  same  year,  Bardstown  sems  to  have 
sprung  into  prominence,  for  Rev,  Nerinckx 
writes,  in  1805 :  "  Mr.  Coppingen,  an  Irishman 
without  children,  who  intends  to  give  all  he 
miakes  to  the  church,  is  ready  to  settle,  thirteen 
miles  from  here,  in  one  of  our  most  important 
missions,  Beardts'  toivn*  where  he  has  bought 
thirty-six  acres.  We  think  of  building  a  chapel 
or  church  and  a  residence  for  the  future  bishop 
of  Kentucky  in  that  town."  Major  Erkuries 
Beatty  stopped  in  Bardstown  during  his  western 
tour  in  1786,  and  writes  of  it,  under  date  Au- 
gust 28th :  f  "  Bardstown  .  .  .  forty  miles 
from  Louisville.  .  .  .  This  village  is  near 
Salt  River  toward  its  head,  and  consists  of  fifty 
or  sixty  log  houses,  regularly  laid  out,  and 
pretty  well  built,  the  capital  of  Nelson  county, 
as  Louisville  is  of  JefPerson." 

Father  Nerinckx  also  visited  Louisville,  which 
Major  Beatty  notices,  August  15,  1786,J  as  fol- 

*  Sic.  It  was  called  Bairdstown,  from  its  founder,  Mr.  Baird; 
and  many  old  people  still  spell  it  that  way.  Bardstown  is  a  later 
spelling,  more  euphonious,  but  less  correct. 

fCfr.  The  Magazine  of  American  History,  April,  1877,  pg. 
242. 

X  Ibid.  pg.  239. 


118  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1805- 

lows:  "A  little  below  the  Diamond  or  Six 
Mile  Island,  Louisville  appears  in  view,  pretty, 
as  the  river  is  straight  and  wide.  .  .  .  Found 
it  situate  on  a  second  bank,  very  high ;  just  at 
the  head  of  the  rapids ;  it  consists  of  about  fifty 
or  sixty  houses  a  good  deal  scattered,  chiefly  log, 
some  frame.  A  good  strong  fort  here  during  the 
war,  now  going  to  decay."  Says  Father  Ner- 
inckx,  in  1806  :  "  The  number  of  catholics  will 
undoubtedly  rapidly  increase  in  Louisville  if 
they  have  a  good  priest,  and  there  are  just  now 
great  hopes  of  building  a  church  without  delay, 
if  they  can  have  a  priest  to  visit  them  from 
time  to  time." 

That  same  year,  1806,  Father  Nerinckx 
erected  St.  Charles'  church,  the  fourth  built  in 
Kentucky ;  it  was  a  modest  structure  of  hewed 
logs  with  room  attached  for  his  temporary  resi- 
dence, and  situated  on  Hardin's  Creek,  Marion 
county.  Over  six  hundred  people  attended  that 
church  in  1806.*  He  had  named  this  mission, 
in  September,  1805,  after  St.  Charles  Borromeo, 
his  patron  Saint,  whose  life  he  was  constantly 
reading  and  meditating  on,  and  with  whose 
spirit  he  was  thoroughly  imbued.  The  zeal  for 
reform  exhibited  by  that  great  bishop.  Father 
Nerinckx  constantly  strived  to  imitate  in  the 
correction  of  abuses  among  his  people,  but  more 
especially  in  his  own  austere  and  mortified  man- 
ner of  life.  "Before  he  built  St.  Charles' 
church.  Mass  was  said,  marriages  and  baptisms 

«  Letter  of  May  16,  1806. 


1807.]         LIFE  OF  REY.  CHARLES  NERIXCKX.  119- 

were  performed,  at  the  house  of  Henry  Hagan, 
some  two  miles  to  the  south  of  St.  Charles'. 
Father  JSTerinckx  had  charge  of  the  station  at 
Hagan's  house,  which,  as  well  as  St.  Charles' 
afterward,  was  known  as  Hardin's  Creeli\  from 
the  vicinity  of  both  places  to  the  little  stream  of 
that  name.  Father  ISTerinckx,  when  he  built  a 
church,  made  diiferent  persons  subscribe  one  or 
two  hewn  logs,  of  prescribed  dimensions,  and  de- 
liver them  on  the  spot.  Then  all  assembled 
with  him  to  have  the  'house  raising,'  as  it  was 
styled.  The  fitting  of  the  prepared  logs  to  their 
places,  was  the  work  of  one,  or  at  most,  two 
days.  Father  Nerinckx  was  able  to  lift  with 
two  men  opposite  to  him  at  the  hand-spike.  As 
the  people  had  great  veneration  for  him  and 
were  even  in  awe  of  his  spirit,  he  could  accom- 
plish any  thing  he  undertook  with  them."* 
Pulled  down  in  1832  to  make  room  for  the  new 
grave-yard,  the  humble  log  church  was  replaced 
by  a  brick  one,  eighty  feet  long  by  forty  wide^ 
which  the  zealous  Father  Deparcq  finished  the 
same  year,  together  with  a  new  brick  house  be- 
gun four  years  previous.  The  old  log  house  in 
which  Father  Nerinckx  resided,  when,  near  this 
very  spot,  old  Loretto  was  struggling  for  exist- 
ence under  his  23aternal  but  severe  discipline,  is 
standing  yet,  a  relic  of  the  hard  but  glorious 
past ;  it  was  until  lately  the  refuge  of  a  j)oor 
negro  family.  Father  Ferment,  the  resident 
pastor  of  the  j^lace,  enlarged  the   church   to  a 

*  Letter  of  Rev.  Walter  H.  Hill,  S.  J.,  December,  1875. 


120  I^IFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERIXCKX.         [1F05- 

length  of  one  hundred  and  sixteen  feet,  and 
added  a  transept  of  fifty-four  feet  in  width,  dur- 
ing the  Summer  of  1874. 

Whilst  these  works  were  going  on.  Father 
Nerinekx  received,  in  answer  to  his  urgent  re- 
quests for  help  from  Belgium,  a  check  of  f  100 
for  the  missions,  and  another  of  $105  for  himself, 
through  Mr.  Dew^olf,  of  Antw^erp.  Having  the 
glory  of  the  house  of  God  at  heart,  and  anxious 
to  introduce  into  Kentucky  the  good  old  customs 
of  catholic  countries,  he  immediately  ordered,  in 
Baltimore,  three  new  bells  for  the  then  existing 
churches.  But  being  advised  that  this  sum  was 
all  he  could  expect  for  some  time  to  come,  and 
having  nothing  to  hope  for  from  his  poor  par- 
ishioners, he  wrote  to  Bishop  Carroll,  June  2, 
1806:*  "If  the  three  bells  I  ordered  are  not 
yet  bought,  I  would  prefer  to  have  only  one,  for 
I  see  I  will  have  to  bear  all  the  expenses  my- 
self. Please,  also,  send  me  a  bell  of  about  $30 
for  the  church  where  I  reside,  and  let  the  rest 
be  spent  in  l)uying  pious  books,  catechisms, 
prayer  books,  etc.,  of  which  people  are  in  great 
need  here.  I  also  wish  a  floly  Bible  for  myself. 
Be  so  kind  as  to  direct  it  all  to  Mr.  De  Gallon, 
a  baker  in  the  hamlet  of  Louisville,  on  the 
banks  of  the  Ohio  river.  These  drafts  being- 
all  I  can  expect,  because  of  the  extraordinary  ef- 
forts they  are  making  to  help  the  Jesuits  and 
the  Trappists,  I  have  thought  it  better  to  spend 
the  money  for  wliat  will  tend  most  to  the  glory 

*  Baltimore  MSS. 


1807.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  121 

of  God.  I  will  try  to  be  little  solicitous  about 
myself,  for  He  who  always  took  such  fatherly 
care  of  me,  notwithstanding  my  unworthiness, 
will  never  abandon  me.  It  seems  there  is  little 
hope  of  obtaining  more  missionaries  from  Bel- 
gium ;  they  need  the  zealous  men  themselves, 
and  we  do  not  waiit  the  lukewarm.  Some  gen- 
erous friends  of  mine  are  going  to  send  two  or 
three  trunks  of  vestments,  the  distribution  of 
which  they  will  leave  to  your  Lordship  ;  I  beg 
that  you  will  not  forget  us,  for  our  people  are 
deficient  both  in  means  and  in  good  will." 

The  humble  priest  did  surely  not  exaggerate 
the  poverty  of  his  missionary  stations,  for,  as  we 
gather  from  a  letter  written  to  his  parents,  in 
1807  :  *  "  Only  one  of  our  churches,  Holy  Cross, 
has  an  altar.  Not  one  has  more  than  one  chas- 
uble, and  none  has  a  linen  alb  except  those  I 
provided  myself;  whilst  middling  good  Irish 
linen,  the  only  quality  obtainable  here,  costs 
$1.50.  I  procured  already  four  chalices;  and 
the  best  one,  which  I  brought  from  Belgium,  I 
intend  to  offer,  for  the  glory  of  God,  to  the  one 
who  will  be  selected  as  the  first  Bishop  of  this 
redon  ;  he  will  undoubtedlv  make  a  better  and 
holier  use  of  it  than  I  would." 

However,  his  love  for  the  beauty  of  the  house 
of  the  Lord  suggested  to  him  means  to  adorn 
and  beautify  his  missionary  stations.  Here,  as 
in  Herffelingen,  he  had  the  secret  of  attracting 

*Autogi-aph  letter  dated  Ash  Wednesday,  1807. 
11 


122  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1805- 

the  children,  and,  in  1807,  he  built,  with  their 
help,  an  altar  and  j^ulpit  in  St.  Charles'  church ; 
these  articles  were  inlaid  with  different  kinds 
of  woods,  after  a  plan  which  Father  Nerinckx 
himself  designed,  and  cost  $130.  "Myself,"  he 
writes,  "  and  the  children  who  made  their  first 
communion  this  year,  pay  part  of  it ;  the  younger 
children  all  pay  something  in  thread  or  corn  ;  so 
that  it  is  ao*ain  with  the  children  1  be^'in  and 
succeed.  Most  of  them  are  very  anxious  to  con- 
tribute something,  and  gain  the  good  will  of 
their  parents  so  thoroughly,  that,  God  helping, 
they  will  all  be  enlisted  in  the  good  cause.  The 
most  discouraging  feature  here,  is,  that  when 
you  have  mastered  the  difficulties  in  one  place, 
the  same  or  greater  obstacles  await  j^ou  in  four 
or  five  others.  Well,  God's  holy  will  be  done !  " 
During  the  year  1807,  the  first  brick  church 
of  Kentucky,  built  with  the  generous  help  of  the 
non-catholics  of  the  town,  was  finished  in  Dan- 
'vlUe  by  the  joint  exertions  of  the  two  mission- 
aries. "  Danville,"  says  Major  Beatty,  August 
30,1786,*  .  .  .  "  this  is  forty -five  miles  from 
Bardstown,  and  lies  near  the  waters  of  Dick's 
river,  which  empties  into  the  Kentucky,  and  also 
near  the  headwaters  of  a  branch  of  Salt  river. 
The  capital  of  Mercer  county,  and  where  all  the 
public  business  of  the  county  is  done ;  it  being 
the  most  central  place — the  town  is  new,  about 
forty  log  houses  in  it,  neatly  built,  and  a  frame 

*The  Historical  Magazine,  edited  by  J.  A.  Stevens,      1877,  pg. 
242. 


1807.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  123 

court-house;  appears  to  be  some  genteel  peo- 
ple here;  a  pretty  good  tavern  kept  by  Mr. 
Barber." 

Lexino-ton  was  another  of  the  missionaries' 
stations,  which  the  major  visited,  August  31^ 
1786,  and  notices  as  follows :  f  "  Lexington.  .  .  . 
This  is  thirty-five  miles  from  Danville,  the 
largest  of  any  of  the  villages  in  the  settlement, 
and  the  oldest.  I  suppose  there  are  ninety  or 
one  hundred  houses  in  it,  all  log,  but  some  neatly 
built.  It  lies  upon  the  headwaters  of  the 
branches  of  the  Kentucky,  and  is  a  good  deal 
scattered.  A  small  brook  runs  through  the 
town,  which  is  supplied  by  a  number  of  fine 
springs,  which  supply  the  town  with  water  that 
is  very  good.     .     .     ." 

The  people,  without  distinction  of  creed, 
every-where  welcomed  the  priests,  and  gave 
them  substantial  aid,  as  Father  IS'erinckx  testi- 
fies in  his  journal,  in  the  year  1807:  "Some 
merchants  of  Bardstown,  Lexington,  Danville, 
Louisville,  etc.,  where  catholic  churches  were 
built,  contributed  |50,  |100,  $200,  and  $400,  al- 
though non-catholics.  In  Hopkinsville,  after  a 
sermon  which  Father  Badin  preached  in  my 
presence,  the  non-catholic  listeners  called  a 
meeting  of  citizens  at  the  court-house  (there 
were  not  half  a  dozen  catholics  in  the  place),  cir- 
culated a  subscription  list  for  the  building  of  a 
catholic  church  and  a  Loretto  school,  and  within 
a  day  and  a  half  they  had  four  thousand  acres 

t  Idem.  pg.  243. 


124  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1805- 

of  land  pledged,  some  giving  as  high  as  five 
hundred  acres,  and  promising  more  if  necessary, 
which,  at  the  low  valuation  of  five  dollars  an 
acre,  would  have  netted  |20,000.  The  gift  was 
not  accepted,  the  Loretto  convent  being  unable 
to  spare  any  of  its  members.  We  intend  to 
build  a  brick  tower  on  the  Danville  church, 
which,  although  small,  will  be  the  first  tower  in 
Kentucky." 

Besides  Holy  Mary's  and  St.  Charles',  Father 
Nerinckx  attended  St.  Ann's,  on  Cartwright's 
€reek,  in  the  now  Washington  county.  "  The 
latter  church  was  situated  about  ten  miles  north- 
east of  St.  Stephen's,  and  was  a  wooden  fabric 
of  logs.  A  grave-yard  was  attached  to  it,  being 
the  second  burying-ground  in  the  catholic  mis- 
sion of  Kentucky,  as  St.  Ann's  was  the  second 
church;  Holy  Cross  chapel  and  grave-yard, 
where  the  two  French  priests  were  buried,  being 
the  first.  Mass  continued  to  be  said  at  St.  Ann's 
by  Father  I^erinckx  till  1806 ;  the  Dominicans 
then  attended  it  as  a  station  from  their  new 
church  of  St.  Rose,  until  1819,  when  the  totter- 
ing old  church  was  taken  down,  and  the  congre- 
gation attached  to  it  was  merged  in  that  of  St. 
Rose's.  Some  traces  of  its  ruins  are  still  visible 
two  miles  from  St.  Rose's."  * 

The  following  list  of  missions,  made  by  Father 
Nerinckx  in  1807, f  will  give  us  an  accurate  idea 

*  Letter  of  Rev.  Walter  II.  Hill,  December,  1875. 
•f- Letter  in  BoUaudist  Library,  Brussels. 


1807.]  LIFE  OF  EEV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  125- 

of  the  state  of  catholicity  in  Kentucky  in  the 
beginning  of  this  century : 

"  Previous  to  Mr.  Badin's  arrival  here  there 
was  not  a  church,  and  when  I  came  not  one  was 
known  by  name.  We  now  have  the  pleasure  of 
distinguishing  the  most  important  by  the  name 
of  a  Saint  under  whose  protection  they  are 
placed : 

"  1.  Hohj  Cross,  previously  known  as  Pottin- 
ger's  Creek,  has  over  two  hundred  families,  and 
is  four  miles  from  our  home. 

"  2.  St.  Stephen\s,  the  place  where  we  dwell, 
and  named  after  Mr.  Badin's  patron  Saint,  has 
about  forty  families. 

"3.  St.  Ann,  eight  miles  from  here,  has  two 
hundred  families ;  so  called  after  relics  of  that 
Saint  which  I  brought  from  Europe. 

"  4.  St.  Charles,  named  in  honor  of  my  patron 
Saint,  whose  relics  I  deposited  there,  has  ninety 
families  and  is  situated  six  miles  from  here. 

"5.  Ilohj  Martfs,  named  in  honor  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin,  has  seventy  families  and  is  dis- 
tant thirteen  miles. 

"6.  St.  Josefli,  Bardstown,  which  is  destined 
to  be  the  Episcopal  See,  is  thirteen  miles  from 
here  and  has  fifty  families. 

"  7.  St.  Michael,  has  fifty  families  and  is 
twenty-four  miles  from  here, 

"  All  these  have  churches,  though  only  frame 
ones  . 

"8.  St.  Thomas,  eleven  miles  from  here,  has 
thirty  families,  but  no  church.     An  old  married. 


126  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1805- 

couple  living  here,  are  said  to  reserve  their  prop- 
erty for  the  church ;  it  consists  of  four  hundred 
^cres,  estimated  at  $5,000, 

"9.  St.  Clare,  twenty-four  miles  from  here, 
has  seventeen  families.  Every  thing  in  readi- 
ness for  a  church  and  one  hundred  acres  for  the 
priest. 

"  10.  St.  Antliony,  eighty  miles  from  here,  has 
twenty-five  families,  no  church,  but  three  hun- 
dred acres  for  a  priest. 

"11.  St.  Louis,  in  the  city  of  Louisville  on  the 
Ohio,  where  there  is  much  trade  and  wickedness, 
has  twenty  families.  The  French  are  the  worst 
portion  of  the  people,  and  few  catechisms  in  that 
language  are  bought,  few  confessions  heard,  but 
plenty  of  curses  uttered.  There  is,  however,  an 
old  French  dragoon  of  ninety  years  who  goes 
monthly  to  his  duty.     .     .     . 

"  12.  St.  Benedict  has  fifteen  families,  no 
church,  and  is  thirty-three  miles  distant. 

"  13.  St.  Francis,  seventy- two  miles  from  here, 
has  fifty  families,  a  church,  a  house  for  a  priest, 
and  fifty  acres  of  land. 

"  14.  St.  Peter,  Lexington,  the  most  important 
city  in  the  state,  has  twenty  families,  no  church, 
but  a  house  and  some  land.  It  is  situated  sev- 
enty miles  from  here. 

"  15.  St.  Christopliorus,  eighty  miles  from  here, 
has  twenty-five  families,  no  church,  but  one  hun- 
dred acres  of  land. 

"16.  St.  Patrick,  Danville,  thirty  miles  from 
here,  has  a  new,  though  small  brick  church,  the 


1807.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  127 

first  ever  bnilt  in  Kentucky,  but  no  land.  The 
town  contains  few  houses,  but  does  a  thriving 
business. 

"  17.  St  Bernard,  thirty-four  miles  from  here, 
has  eleven  families,  but  neither  church  nor  land. 

"18.  St.  John,  fifteen  miles  from  here,  has  fif- 
teen families. 

"These  are  the  named  congregations.  To 
each  of  these  belong  outside  missions,  where 
Mass  is  said  and  the  Sacraments  are  adminis- 
tered. 

"  Father  Badin  attends  to  most  of  the  distant 
missions ;  the  congregations  exclusively  belong- 
ing to  me  are  Holy  Mary's,  St.  Charles',  and  St. 
Bernard's.  Father  Badin  wants  me  to  assume 
the  care  of  Holy  Cross  and  St.  Stephen's,  but  I 
am  already  overworked.  I  attend  occasionally 
the  outlying  missions,  and  the  sick  calls  are  at- 
tended to  by  the  one  who  is  called ;  I  have  to 
keep  two  horses  to  wander  through  these  regions, 
and  I  am  convinced  that  there  are  nearly  as 
many  more  families  as  I  mentioned,  scattered 
among  unbelievers,  who  belong  nowhere  because 
they  have  no  priest  to  guide  them  and  are 
ashamed  to  own  up  their  belief  among  infidels." 

Writing  to  Bishop  Carroll  that  same  year, 
Father  Nerinckx  stated  that  the  duties  devolv- 
ing upon  him  in  these  congregations  were  more 
than  he  could  attend  to,  declaring  himself  ready, 
however,  to  attend  to  any  place  the  prelate 
might  assign  him.  Bishop  Carroll  tried  his 
humility  and  obedience  to  the  utmost,  by  assign- 


128  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1805- 

ing  to  liim  a  district,  which  embraced  nearly 
half  the  State  of  Kentucky,  extending  from 
Washington  to  Union  county,  a  territory  in 
which  there  are  at  present  more  than  thirty  or- 
ganized congregations. 

Nothing  loth,  the  missionary  set  to  work 
with  an  energy  which  would  have  put  to  shame 
the  most  enterprising  pioneer,  and  which  soon 
told  on  his  vigorous  constitution,  as  he  confi- 
dently acknowledged  in  a  letter  to  his  parents  :* 
"  I  feel  that  my  strength  of  body  is  diminishing, 
and  my  vigor  of  mind  giving  way,  under  the 
constant  pressure  of  hard  work.  I  am  fre- 
quently troubled  with  diarrhoea  and  indigestion, 
owing  to  reasons  which  I  can  not  avoid :  among 
others,  long  fasting  and  very  irregular  meals. 
Many  a  day,  I  have  only  one  very  late  meal,  en- 
tirely different  from  the  food  I  was  used  to." 
In  fact,  his  food  was  always  of  the  coarsest 
lihid — pork  and  milk  was  his  almost  daily  diet  ;f 
and,  as  he  never  missed  offering  the  Holy  Sacri- 
fice of  the  Mass,  no  matter  what  had  been  his 
previous  fatigues  or  indisposition,  he  was  often 
known  to  ride  twenty-five  or  thirty  miles  fasting 
in  order  to  be  able  to  say  Mass,  and  he  seldom 
broke  his  fast  until  three  or  four  o'clock  in  the 
evening.  "This,"  he  continues,  "I  can  not 
avoid,  unless  we  obtain  a  good  reinforcement  of 
priests,  something  which  seems  to  be  in  the  very 
distant  future.     My  complaint  of  fistula  is  often. 

*  Letter  of  1807;  Sup.  Oil. 
f  Letter  of  1805-6;  Sup.  Git. 


1807]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  129 

renewed.  We  perspire  a  great  deal  in  Summer, 
and  suffer  from  inflammation  of  the  bowels  ;  and 
in  February  and  March,  my  limbs  are  laid  bare 
with  blotches  and  blains  which  emit  considerable 
water.  In  this,  however,  as  in  all  the  rest,  I  am 
resigned,  thinking  that  it  does  me  good." 

Notwithstanding  these  sufferings,  he  was  al- 
most always  on  horseback.  Day  and  night  he 
went  about  from  settlement  to  settlement,  and 
from  house  to  house,  among  the  wideh^  scattered 
catholics  in  the  country,  and  lived  henceforth  on 
the  missions  which  he  was  to  fecundate  by  his. 
labors,  impressing  upon  the  minds  and  hearts  of 
his  people  that  earnestness  of  purpose  and  solid- 
ity of  faith  which  were  emphatically  his  own. 
Practical  and  enlightened  piety  to  this  day  dis- 
tinguish the  catholics  who  were  the  hapj^y  recip- 
ients of  his  instructions  when  children.  Not 
only  Father  Nerinckx'  name,  but  his  undying- 
spirit  abides  with  them ;  and  judging  by  these 
abundant  fruits,  the  reader  will  admit  with  us, 
that  the  following  account  of  his  missionary 
labors  is  only  the  dim  reflection  of  a  life  of  toils 
and  sufferings,  which,  at  a  distance  of  half  a  cen- 
tury, are  more  indelibly  impressed  upon  the 
souls  of  Kentucky's  noble  catholics,  than  they 
will  ever  be  on  pajoer. 


CHAPTER  YIII. 

1807-1808. 
Catholic  schools. — Father  Nerinckx'  zeal  for  the  instruction 

OF    THE    CHILDREK. — "ArMS    UP  !  " He    PLANS    THE     ESTABLISHMENT 

OF   A    RELIGIOUS    COMMUNITY. — ItS     OBJECTS. — BuiLDING    OF     A    CON- 
VENT NEAR  St.  Stephen's. — The  building  destroyed  by  fire. 

When  we  read  of  the  apalling  privations  and 
the  herculean  toils  of  tlie  pioneer  catholic  mis- 
sionaries in  this,  our  country,  and  compare  the 
results  as  evinced  in  the  progress  of  catholicity, 
it  is  discouraging  to  see  how  many  of  our  people 
have  fallen  away  from  the  faith,  and  rendered 
all  these  labors  useless,  and  the  question  natu- 
rally arises  in  the  minds  of  all  well-meaning  per- 
sons, and  especially  of  hard-working  priests: 
Why  is  it  that  the  superhuman  efforts  of  our 
.self-sacrificing  missionaries  are  so  barren  ?  The 
problem  is  one  of  vital  importance,  and  after 
having  been  for  years  the  object  of  studied  re- 
searches, has  at  last  been  sufficiently  cleared  up, 
to  awaken  bishops,  priests,  and  laity  to  the 
necessity  of  establishing  catholic  schools,  where 
the  minds  of  the  young  will  be  guarded  against 
the  poisoning  influences  of  an  infidel  system  of 
education,  and  imbued  with  the  true  spirit  of 

(130) 


1S07-8.]      LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERIXCKX.  131 

catholic  vitality.  The  rueful  experiment  of  the 
last  quarter  of  a  century  has  convinced  all  men 
who  believe  in  Christianity  and  morality,  that  it 
is  not  enough  to  build  churches,  and  erect 
magnificent  structures  to  the  honor  and  glory 
of  Grod,  in  order  to  preserve  the  faith  in  the 
hearts  of  our  children.  Such  and  kindred  en- 
terprises speak  well  for  the  generosity  of  our 
2)eople,  and  for  the  practical  faith  of  the  present 
generation  of  hardy  pioneers,  who  lavish  upon 
the  temple  of  the  most  High  a  liberal  share  of 
the  wealth  which  they  accumulated  by  dint  of 
persevering  labor,  by  years  of  privations  and 
toils.  But  what  is  to  become  of  our  children  ? 
Of  what  use  are  beautiful  churches,  if,  ten  or 
twenty  years  hence,  they  are  to  be  deserted,  be 
void  of  their  worshipers,  liberalized  by  a  sys- 
tem of  education  that  ignores  God,  and  places 
religion  and  irreligion  on  the  same  footing? 
Catholic  schools  are  a  necessity  which,  thanks 
be  to  God,  our  priests  understand,  and  for  the 
maintenance  of  which  they  and  their  people 
think  no  sacrifice  too  great,  no  privation  too 
hard. 

Men  of  transcendent  piety  and  thought,  who 
are  working  exclusively  for  the  glory  of  God  and 
the  exaltation  of  His  holy  church,  have  fully 
realized  in  all  ages  the  urgent  necessity  of  edu- 
cating the  young;  and  we  would  point  with 
legitimate  pride,  to  what  the  catholic  church  has 
effected  in  that  direction,  not  only  in  Europe, 
but  in  these  United  States,  where  one  of  the  first 


132  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1807- 

and  foremost  institutions  of  learning  established 
was  a  catholic  one,*  were  it  not  that  the  ground- 
less accusation  of  know-nothing  bigotry,  that  our 
church  fosters  ignorance,  was  long  ago  exploded 
and  effectually  set  aside  by  even  our  worst  ene- 
mies. 

Father  Nerinckx  understood,  in  all  its  bear- 
ings upon  the  practical  faith  of  the  individual 
and  upon  the  future  of  the  church,  the  great 
question  of  education ;  and  in  the  wilds  of  Ken- 
tucky, as  in  the  rural  village  of  populous  Bel- 
gium, his  first  care  was  given  'o  the  children. 
On  them  he  lavished  his  labors,  and  following 
the  example  of  our  Blessed  Redeemer,  he  loved 
the  little  children  with  the  most  tender  love. 
He  would  u'ather  them  around  him  wherever  he 
went,  and  devote  to  their  instruction  most  of  the 
time  that  was  not  taken  up  in  saying  Mass, 
preaching,  and  hearing  confessions  ;  and  that 
was  no  inconsiderable  time,  for  he  would  stay  a 
whole  week  at  each  of  the  churches  and  stations, 
mainly  for  the  purpose  of  instructing  them. 
Thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  restless  nature 
of  childhood,  he  would  relieve  the  tediousness  of 
a  many  hours'  session,  by  all  the  successful  little 
devices  that  refresh  their  minds,  enlist  their  in- 
terest, or  claim  their  undivided  attention.  After 
having  explained  the  catechism  with  all  the 
earnestness,  which  his  serious  nature  brought  to 

*  Georgetown  College,  designed  by  the  venerable  and  patriotic 
Archbishop  Carroll,  in  17S4,  five  years  before  his  consecration; 
built  in  1789,  and  opened  1791. 


1808.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  133 

the  fulfillment  of  a  duty,  so  sacred  as  the  one 
of  molding  the  hearts  of  the  little  ones  to  the 
doctrines  of  the  catholic  church,  and  of  prepar- 
ing them  for  the  reception  of  their  first  holy 
communion,  he  would  call  them  around  him,  and 
teach  them  some  simple  little  hymn,  like  the 
following,  which  he  composed  for  their  especial 
benefit : 

"  Come,  dear  Lord,  possess  my  heart, 

And  fill  it  with  thy  love ; 
0  stay  with  me,  and  ne'er  depart, 

But  take  me  up  above ; 
Where  Jesus  sweet  and  Mary  dwell, 

Where  saints  and  angels  are  ; 
From  snares  of  world  and  pains  of  hell 

Oh  !  grant  me  to  beware ! 

Oh !  grant  me  to  beware  !  " 

They  then  folded  their  hands  in  supplicating 
prayer  and  beseeched  the  Heavenly  Father  in 
touching  strains  for  the  enlightenment  of  infi- 
dels, the  conversion  of  sinners,  and  the  perse- 
verance of  the  just.  Another  lesson  would  then 
follow,  relieved  at  times  by  an  interesting  little 
anecdote,  edifying  and  instructive,  and  the  exer- 
cises would  be  wound  up  with  the  somewhat 
lengthy  but  touching  practice  of  "Het  Kruisge- 
hed^^  prayer  with  arms  extended  in  the  form  of 
a  cross.  The  poor  urchins,  writes  a  gentleman 
now  in  the  Far  West,  who  in  his  younger  days 
attended  catechism  class  at  St.  Charles,  would 
sometimes,  after  a  great  deal  of  writhing,  let  the 
little  arms  sink,  when  a  quick  '-'•arms  wpV  from 
the  kneeling  priest  would  bring  them  back  to 
the  desired  position.     But  although  the  pious 


134  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1807- 

father's  devotional  exercises  would  at  times  tire 
his  young  audience,  they  loved  him  none  the  less 
for  that ;  for,  aside  from  the  fact  that  sacred 
pictures,  beads,  and  books  were  the  reward  of 
their  application,  he  had  a  peculiar  tact  in  win- 
ning their  hearts,  and  they  all  felt  the  greatest 
affection  for  the  grave  and  austere  pastor,  who 
made  himself  all  to  all  that  he  might  win  all  to 
Christ. 

After  Mass,  he  was  in  the  habit  of  practicing 
the  same  beautiful  devotion :  "  He  went  to  the 
center  of  the  church,  where,  surrounded  by  the 
little  children,  who  so  dearly  loved  him,  he 
knelt  down,  and,  with  his  arms  extended  in  the 
form  of  a  cross — the  children  also  raising  their 
little  arms  in  the  same  manner — he  recited  pray- 
ers in  honor  of  the  five  blessed  wounds  of  our  di- 
vine Saviour.  The  parents  often  joined  the 
children  in  this  morning  devotion.  After  this, 
he  led  his  little  congregation,  composed  chiefly 
of  children,  into  the  adjoining  grave-yard,  where 
he  caused  them  to  visit  and  pray  over  the  graves 
of  their  deceased  relatives  and  friends."* 

Father  Nerinckx  taught  the  little  ones  to 
practice  what  they  believed  ;  it  was,  as  we  have 
seen,  with  their  help  that  he  beautified  St. 
Charles'  church,  through  them  that  he  brought 
the  parents  to  their  duties ;  and  thus  he  laid 
broad  and  deep  the  foundations  of  catholic  piety 
in  Kentucky ;  thus  he  trained  in  solid  and  prac- 
tical devotion  these    now  flourishing   congrega- 

*"  Sketches  of  KentucUy,"  pg.  145. 


]808.]         LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERIXCKX.  135. 

tions,  whose  beautiful  churches,  and  more  strik- 
ingly beautiful  religiousness  in  them,  commend 
them  at  once  to  the  admiration  of  the  thoughtful 
visitor.  Half  a  century  has  elapsed  since  the 
rugged  priest  rested  from  his  labors,  and  the 
name  of  Father  Nerinckx  is  still  on  their  lips 
and  on  the  lips  of  their  children  as  a  household 
word,  his  memory  is  engraved  on  their  hearts, 
and  his  spirit  still  imbues  their  souls. 

These  incessant  labors  for  the  instruction  of 
youth,  however,  did  not  satisfy  the  burning  zeal 
of  our  missionary.  Many  and  earnest  were  the 
consultations  he  held  with  his  worthy  co-laborer, 
Father  Badin,  about  the  best  means  of  securing 
the  catholic  education  of  the  children.  In  the 
course  of  their  apostolic  visitations  of  the  catho- 
lic settlements  scattered  throughout  the  country, 
they  had  found  a  few  pious  souls,  more  favored 
than  others  by  the  grace  of  God,  and  sufficiently 
educated  for  the  purpose,  who  had  expressed 
their  desire  of  living  a  more  secluded  life  away 
from  the  world,  and  of  consecrating  their  lives 
to  the  instruction  of  catholic  youth.  Father 
Nerinckx,  therefore,  resolved  to  attempt  the 
foundation  of  a  religious  community.  As  early 
as  September,  1805,  he  wrote  to  his  parents : 
"  Twenty  young  ladies  are  ready  to  follow  me 
next  Spring  to  my  new  residence,  thirteen  miles 
from  here  [from  St.  Stephen's  to  Holy  Mary's 
on  the  Rolling  Fork].  My  intention  is  to  give 
them  a  house  near  the  church,  if  the  Bishop 
consents  to  it.     They  will  be   able   to   support 


136  I^IFE  OF  REV.  CHAELES  NERINCKX.         [1807- 

themselves  by  spinning,  weaving,  and  sewing. 
The  Lovers  of  Mary,  as  I  intend  to  call  them, 
would  not  be  bound  by  solemn  vows,  and  some 
of  them  would  be  intrusted  with  the  instruction 
of  poor  children  and  slaves." 

He  riiade  all  the  necessar}^  arrangements ;  but 
this  first  attempt  made  by  Father  Xerinckx  to 
establish  a  convent  school  at  Holy  Mary's  failed 
through  the  apathy  of  those  who  were  to  be 
benefited  by  its  success.  Nothing  daunted,  but 
convinced  of  his  own  inability  successfully 
to  cope  with  the  difficulties  in  their  way,  he 
urged  the  Vicar-general  to  make  another  trial. 
Finally,  Father  Badin,  having  been  longer  in  the 
country  and  better  acquainted  with  the  people 
most  likely  to  contribute  to  so  worthy  an  enter- 
prise, took  it  upon  himself  to  procure  the  neces- 
sary means,  leaving  to  his  associate  the  task  of 
establishing  the  proposed  society  somewhat  in 
imitation  of  nuns  in  the  old  country,  his  hum- 
ble protest  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. 
Father  Nerinckx  wrote  to  Bishop  Carroll,  March 
21,  1807  :  "  Rev.  Father  Badin  seems  to  approve 
very  much  of  the  institution,  about  which  I 
wrote  to  your  Lordship:)  some  time  ago,  and  for 
which  James  Dent,  a  catholic  man  without 
children,  off*ers  four  hundred  acres  of  land, 
promising,  moreover,  to  consecrate  himself  and 
all  he  possesses  (which  is  not  very  much)  to  the 
same  purpose.  The  undertaking  is  a  difficult 
one  indeed,  and  should  not  be  intrusted  to  my 
littleness ;  but  I  can  not  deny  its  utility,  and  in 


1808.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  137 

my  humble  opinion,  its  execution  and  superintend- 
ence should  be  given  to  the  able  and  worthy- 
men  whom  I  hoped  would  soon  arrive  from  Bel- 
gium. I  am  told  that  the  Dominican  fathers 
also  have  the  intention  of  establishing  a  convent 
of  religious  persons  of  the  other  sex,  and  if  the 
whole  thing  is  done  in  the  right  way,  it  can  not 
but  tend  to  the  greater  glory  of  God  and  con- 
tribute to  the  salvation  of  many  souls.  There 
are  not  a  few  who  enter  the  matrimonial  state 
more  from  ignorance  of  the  proper  means  of 
leading  a  celibate  life  away  from  the  disturb- 
ances of  the  world,  than  from  a  deliberate  pro- 
pensity for  the  matrimonial  life,  and  in  conse- 
quence they  lead  a  most  miserable  existence. 
Nor  is  it  likely  that  the  Author  of  the  evangeli- 
cal counsels  who  was  pleased  to  take  unto  Him- 
self in  celibacy,  and  that  in  the  very  court  of  N^ero, 
the  concubines  of  that  impious  monster,  by  the 
hands  of  Paul,  should  not  deign  to  select  any  in 
this  land,  in  which  the  women  are  about  the 
only  ones  who  have  zeal  for  religion.  There  is, 
therefore,  every  reason  to  be  anxious  about  a 
holy  director  to  be  put  at  the  head  of  the  under- 
taking." * 

Little  did  the  humble  priest  think  that,  in  the 
designs  of  an  all-wise  Providence,  he  \Yas  the 
very  man  exclusively  selected  for  the  purpose ; 
and  while  deprecating  the  responsibility  of  so 
holy  and  important  an  undertaking,  obedience 

*  Baltimore  MSS. 


138  LIFE  OF  EEV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1807- 

prompted  him  to  make  preparations  and  plans 
for  its  success.  The  same  3^ear,  1807,  he  wrote 
to  his  parents : 

"  In  my  last  letter  I  mentioned  the  impossi- 
bility of  establishing  a  religious  community  of 
women  and  a  school,  institutions  which  Mould 
be  very  useful  here.  That  project  has  now  been 
taken  up  by  the  Vicar-general  who  urges  me 
ever  so  much  to  undertake  it.  There  is  in  his 
congregation,  the  care  of  which  he  also  lays  on 
my  shoulders,  a  married  couple,  who  not  long 
ago  commenced  with  nothing,  and  who,  by  dint 
of  economy  and  labor,  have  now  in  their  posses- 
sion four  hundred  acres  of  land,  with  some 
dilapidated  buildings.  Their  only  and  constant 
desire  is  to  oifer  it  up  for  that  purpose,  besides 
offering  themselves  for  their  whole  life  (they  are 
not  yet  forty  years  old),  to  work  for  the  same  in- 
tention under  the  direction  of  a  spiritual  supe- 
rior. Such  an  action  would,  in  certain  countries, 
be  called  fanaticism,  and  people  there  make  quite 
another  use  of  their  property,  to  the  great  detri- 
ment of  society.  It  appears  that  the  thing  must 
be  undertaken  without  delay,  although  I  am 
afraid  of  it. 

"  The  project  will  have  three  special  objects 
in  view,  and  will  eventually  be  a  threefold  in- 
stitution under  the  name  of  Friends  of  Mary. 
By  order  of  the  Very  Rev.  Vicar-general  I  com- 
menced framing  some  rules  of  life,  etc. — it  would 
likely  be  good  enough  to  practice  some  myself. 
The  result  will  be  some  kind  of  rules  and  ob- 


1808.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINGKX.  139 

ligations  like  those  of  the  Beguines*  giving  the 
members  of  the  society  an  opportunity  to  leave 
the  world  and  the  liberty  to  return  to  it.  The 
second  object  will  be,  to  provide  from  the  com- 
munity teachers  for  catholic  schools ;  the  third, 
to  help  the  poor  and  take  care  of  the  sick,  irre- 
sj^ective  of  religious  belief. 

"If  this  plan  is  carried  out,  never  will  any 
thing  have  been  built  upon  weaker  foundations, 
and  evince  in  a  greater  degree  the  w^onderful 
providence  of  God,  to  whom  it  was,  however,  an 
easy  task  to  bring  forth  the  whole  universe  out 
of  nothing.  The  prayers  of  my  friends,  wdiich  I 
hereby  solicit  for  this  purpose,  will  be  of  great 
help." 

Father  Badin  had  left  for  Baltimore,  in  Au- 
gust, 1807,  to  confer  with  Bishop  Carroll  about 
several  matters  of  interest  to  the  Western  mis- 
sions and  to  consult  him  about  the  proposed 
religious  community.  He  returned  in  the  be- 
ginning of  180<S,  and  set  to  work  with  such 
energy  and  zeal  that  he  was  soon  enabled  to  be- 
gin the  building  of  the  convent  about  half  a  mile 
from  St.  Stephen's,  on  the  road  to  Holy  Cross 
church.  Father  Nerinckx  writes,t  February  23, 
1808:  "The  corner  stone  of  the  convent  for  the 
religious  congregation  of  females  which  I  men- 
tioned in  former  letters,  has  been  laid.  The 
brother  of  the  generous  gentleman  who  had  al- 
ready given  four  hundred  acres  to  the  church, 

*A  religious  community  of  females  in  Belgium. 
fLetters  in  the  Bollandist  Library,  Brussels. 


140  LIFE  OF  EEV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1807- 

donates  one  hundred  acres  adjoining  Father 
Badin's  land,  and  upon  that  farm  the  work  has 
actually  begun.  That  man,  who  is  a  widower 
with  six  children,  has,  notwithstanding  Father 
Badin's  reiterated  refusals,  insisted  upon  his  ac- 
cepting the  land  for  the  purpose  mentioned,  pro- 
testina:  that  he  relies  on  Providence  who  never 
yet  left  him  in  want.  He  has  intrusted  his  son 
to  the  Trappist  Fathers,  and  intends  to  place  his 
five  daughters  with  the  sisters."  Father  Ner- 
inckx  advised  the  Prelate  of  the  fact  in  the  fol- 
lowing letter,  dated  March  10,  1808:  "Rev. 
Father  Badin  has  happily  returned  from  his 
laborious  visit  to  your  Lordship.  He  has  met 
many  of  our  poor  people  in  the  most  extreme 
spiritual  necessity,  whom  he  helped  and  con- 
soled as  much  as  his  short  stay  would  allow. 
But,  alas !  what  consolation  can  he  afford  who 
'passes  through  Macedonia?'*  It  has  been 
given  him  to  have  compassion  on  the  mul- 
titude, and  to  witness  the  affliction  of  the  people 
erring  without  pastor,  and  desolate.  Nothing 
more !  Ah !  when  will  the  dear  Master  of  the 
harvest  deign  to  send  those  whom  he  is  to  send  ? 
When  will  they  be  shortened,  these  days  of  per- 
dition, to  so  many  souls  redeemed  at  so  great  a 
price  ?  Father  Badin  is  now  building  on  a  one 
hundred  acre  lot,  which  the  widower  Dent  and 
children  gave  for  the  purpose,  a  house  for  the 
quasi-religious,  to  whom- we  are  going  to  intrust 
the  religious  instruction  of  the  girls  ;  and  he  will 

*Act  Apost.  xvi. ;  1  Cor.  xvi.  5. 


1807.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  141 

soon  begin,  at  a  rather  good  distance  from  here, 
the  erection  of  another  house  for  orphans. 
These  works  will,  I  trust,  do  much  good  to  Relig- 
ion, and  they  prove  that  we  are  in  great  need 
of  workmen.  God  grant  that  they  may  soon 
come!"*  On  the  second  day  after  Pentecost, 
1808,  Father  Nerinckx  wrote  f  again  to  his  pa- 
rents :  "  You  will  doubtless  hear  with  satisfac- 
tion that  our  convent  school-house  is  under  roof; 
it  is  seventy  feet  long,  and  will  have  a  chapel 
about  as  long  and  wide  as  the  house,  surmounted 
with  a  turret.  Some  out-buildings  will  be  added. 
It  is  situated  one  mile  from  Father  Badin's 
house.  Six  or  seven  of  our  young  ladies  have 
applied  to  be  the  first  religious,  but  it  seems 
that  there  are  many  more  who  are  anxiously 
watching  how  the  undertaking  will  succeed,  and 
who  will  join  the  community  as  soon  as  it  is  an 
accomplished  fact.  May  God  bless  what  has 
been  begun  for  his  honor  and  glory ;  His  provi- 
dence is  our  only  reliance." 

A  few  weeks  later,  the  young  ladies  who 
looked  forward  to  the  completion  of  the  house 
with  an  anxiet}^,  which  the  long-cherished  wish 
of  their  hearts  and  its  unlooked-for  accomplish- 
ment in  the  rude  state  of  society  of  this  early 
period  of  Kentucky's  history,  more  than  justi- 
fied, were  ready  to  make  the  necessary  arrange- 
ments to  enter  the  house ;  the  last  nail  was 
driven,  when,  alas  !  by  some  unaccountable  acci-  # 

*  Baltimore  MSS. 

f  Letters  in  the  Bollandist  Library,  Brussels. 


142  LIFE  OF  EEV.  CHARLES  NERTNCKX.         [1807- 

dent,  a  fire  reduced  the  building  to  ashes,  and 
blasted  their  hopes  of  ever  seeing  the  realization 
of  their  pious  designs.  Young  ladies  who  were 
ready  for  such  sacrifices  as  they  contemplated 
at  that  time,  could  not  but  become  good  mothers 
of  families,  when  they  saw  their  way  to  the  con- 
vent hopelessly  blocked  up,  by  what  they  had  to 
look  upon  as  a  permission  of  Divine  Providence. 
They  were  anxiously  sought  after,  and  soon 
settled  advantageously  in  the  world. 

The  tw^o  brick  chimneys,  which  alone  had  es- 
caped the  fiery  ordeal,  stood  for  years  in  the  open 
field,  amidst  the  blackened  ruins  of  the  de- 
stroyed building,  silent  monuments  of  the  early 
efforts  of  the  catholic  church  for  the  instruction 
of  youth,  at  a  time  wdien  her  slanderers  left 
their  co-religionists  in  undisturbed  ignorance 
and  their  backwoods  dwellings  unnoticed.  The 
footsteps  of  their  bible-peddlers  had  not  yet 
crossed  the  shadow  cast  by  these  weather-beaten 
remains  over  the  sandy  hills  of  Marion  county, 
when  an  institution,  destined  to  bring  forth  hun- 
dreds of  generous  souls  devoted  to  the  instruc- 
tion of  the  people,  rose  within  sight  of  what 
seemed  to  be  the  grave  of  our  penniless  mission- 
.aries'  efforts.     But  we  must  not  anticipate. 

flowever,  this  sad  accident  proved  too  much 
for  Father  Badin,  who  had  spent  his  last  cent  for 
the  cherished  purpose,  and  used  all  he  had  of  in- 
fluence, business  tact,  and  native  go-aheadness 
for  the  success  of  the  undertaking.  He  once 
more  took  up  his  original  idea  of  attending  the 


1808.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  143 

more  distant  missions,  and  gave  up  to  Father 
Kerinckx  the  supervision  of  the  congregations 
nearer  to  their  home,  leaving  also  to  his  asso- 
€iate  the  undertaking  which  had  so  sadly  come 
to  an  end  in  his  hands.  This  was  to  be  the 
crowning  work  of  Father  JSTerinckx'  missionary 
career ;  and  God,  who  always  blesses  the  things 
that  are  His,  with  crosses  and  tribulations,  pre- 
pared him  for  the  task  by  the  fire  of  contradic- 
tions. Not,  until  1812,  shall  we  witness  the  ac- 
complishment of  the  enterprise,  and  that  under 
circumstances  so  lowly  and  poor,  that  they  must 
have  been  to  the  pious  priest  an  encouraging 
sign  of  future  usefulness.  Was  not  the  humble 
birth  of  our  Saviour  in  the  stable  of  Bethlehem 
the  sign  of  the  salvation  of  the  world  ? 


CHAPTER  IX. 

1807-1808. 

The  Jesuits  in  America. — Catholic  progress  in  Kentucky. — A. 
PROCESSION  in  1807. — Wheeling. — Washington. — New  Lancaster. 
— Chillicothe.— Quebec— Boston. — Knoxville.— Holy  Mary's. 
— St.  Clara's.— St.  Charles. 

Working,  as  Father  Nerinckx  did,  for  the  sole- 
honor  and  glory  of  God,  he  must  have  keenly 
felt  the  loss  to  religion  which  the  failure  of  his 
educational  scheme  necessarily  entailed.  But  in 
the  letters  written  during  that  trying  period  of 
his  life,  his  humility  causes  him  to  ascribe  those 
trials  to  his  own  incapacity  and  sinfulness,  and, 
like  a  true  priest  of  God,  he  takes  delight  in 
callinii"  attention  to  the  success  of  his  brethren 
in  the  ministry.  They  were  all  working  in  the 
vineyard  of  the  same  master,  and  they  had  but 
one  soul  and  one  heart.  Animated  with  the 
same  spirit  of  self-sacrifice,  all  had  abandoned 
fatherland  and  friends  to  devote  their  lives  to 
the  American  mission,  which,  at  that  time,  com- 
prised the  whole  United  States.  The  two  or  three 
native  priests  were  missionaries  in  the  full  sense 
of  the  word,  being  foreign  by  education  and  or- 

(144) 


1807-8.]      LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  145 

dination ;  and  each  State  of  the  Union  was  but 
a  parish  or  mission  of  the  one  Baltimore  diocese, 
the  Bishop  of  which  was  a  Father  to  every  one 
of  his  co-hiborers. 

The  interest  which  Father  Xerinckx  evinces 
in  the  promising  advent  of  the  Jesuits  in 
America,  woukl  be  sufficient  proof  of  his  disin- 
terested zeal  and  purity  of  intention,  if  proof 
were  needed  for  what  shines  out  of  every  line 
of  his  beautiful  letters :  "In  the  midst  of  our 
trials,"  he  writes,*  "consoling  news  comes  tons,, 
by  letters  from  Maryland,  purporting  that,  in 
Georgetown,  the  Order  of  Jesuits  rises  like  an 
aurora,  which  will,  before  long  I  trust,  spread 
its  light  through  our  wilderness,  and  through 
the  woods  which  overshadow  these  our  unex- 
plored regions,  darkened,  more  by  the  cloud  of 
heresy,  unbelief,  error,  and  sin  than  by  their 
foliage.  Five  Jesuit  Fathers  have  arrived  there- 
from Europe,  among  them  a  professor  of  the- 
ology and  one  of  philosophy.  The  others  are : 
Father  Malave,  who,  having  resigned  his  pastor- 
ship of  Jodoigne,  near  Thienen,  at  the  same 
time  that  I  left  Everberg-Meerbeke,  accom- 
panied me  to  Amsterdam  with  the  intention  of 
going  with  me  to  America.  He  there  joined 
the  Jesuits,  under  the  impression  that,  as  was 
told  us  there,  no  catholic  priests  were  allowed  to 
land  in  America  (a  most  egregious  falsehood !). 
From  Holland  he  was  sent  to  Riga,  in  Russia, 

*  Letter  to  his  parents,  Ash  Wednesday,  1807. 


146  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1807- 

thence  to  Astrachan,*  the  capital  of  Persia,  and 

*  Father  Nerinckx  confounds  the  brothers  Malave.  Father 
Ei'ank  Malave,  formerly  pastor  of  .Jodoigne,  joined  the  Jesuits  in 
Polocks,  Russia.  lie  there  found  his  younger  brother  Melchior, 
Tvho  had  left  Belgium  some  time  previous  with  Mr.  Motte. 
Father  Melchior  Malave  was  sent  to  Astrachan,  where  he  became 
so  proficient  in  the  Armenian  tongue  that  he  preached  publicly 
in  that  language  a  few  years  after  his  arrival.  He  also  soon  spoke 
Turkisch  and  Tartar.  Shortly  after  the  departure  of  his  brother 
for  the  Eastern  missions,  Father  Frank  Malave  left  for  Amster- 
dam, and  embarked  thence  to  North  America  with  two  other 
Jesuits — Fathers  Henry  and  Britt. 

The  two  others  alluded  to  by  Father  Nerinckx  are  Fathers 
Beschter  and  Wouters. 

Of  these  Fathers,  Bishop  Carroll  writes  in  his  letter  of  Feb- 
ruary 21,  1809,  further  referred  to  in  the  text:  "...  The 
Rev.  Father  Beschter  is  in  Lancaster,  a  very  flourishing  town  in 
the  county  of  the  same  name,  Pennsylvania.  He  attends  with 
incredible  zeal  three  congregations  composed  of  Germans, 
Americans,  and  Irish.  God  blesses  his  work  ;  he  gains  all  hearts. 
Fathei's  Henry,  Malave,  and  Wouters  attend  numerous  congrega- 
tions on  the  right  and  oriental  shore  of  the  Potomac.  The  first 
lives  about  ten  leagues  from  Washington  below  the  river;  the 
second,  ten  leagues  further  down,  and  the  third,  at  about  the 
same  distance  from  Father  Malave,  not  far  from  the  mouth  of 
that  majestic  river,  which  flows  into  the  Chesapeake." 

And  again,  September  5,  1809  :  "  I  have  the  happiness  cf  hav- 
ing with  me  for  the  last  few  days  your  excellent  friend.  Father 
Malave,  formerly  pastor  of  Jodoigne,  in  Brabant,  now  a  Jesuit. 
He  writes  to  you,  and  no  doubt  tells  you,  that  1  recalled  him 
from  his  former  residence,  Newtown,  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Potomac,  where  the  climate  did  not  agree  with  him  ;  I  send 
him  to  a  more  healthy  place.  The  regrets,  veneration,  and  aflfec- 
tion  of  his  parishioners  prove  the  assiduity  and  success  of  his 
labors  for  their  salvation.  I  can  render  the  same  testimony  to 
the  Jesuit  Father  Henry,  formerly  a  vicar  in  the  diocese  of 
Liege,  and  to  Father  Wouters,  born  at  Wormhout,  in  Flanders, 
and  singularly  to  Father  Beschter,  also  a  Jesuit,  formerly  pastor 
and  dean  in  the  province  of  Luxembourg,  Netherland,  in  the 
several  congregations  which  they  direct."  MSS.  in  BoUandist 
Library,  Brussels. 


1808,]         LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  147 

is  now  in  Georgetown,  in  the  immediate  vicinity 
of  the  capital  of  the  United  States  of  America — 
a  rather  memorable  journey!  'Behold,'  he 
writes,  'how  wonderful  are  God's  designs.' 

"  The  fourth  one  is  Father  Henry,  well-known 
in  Louvain,  and,  it  is  said,  a  man  of  merit  and 
talent.  The  tiftli  one  is  a  German  ;  whence  the 
professors  come  I  do  not  know.  The  Jesuits 
liave  now  eleven  novices  and  several  postulants, 
and  they  expect  twenty  more  from  Europe.  Six 
or  seven  old  Jesuits  were  already  in  America  at 
the  time  of  the  re-establishment  of  the  Society, 
among  them  Father  Molyneux,  who  is  appointed 
Provincial.  I  told  you  in  a  former  letter  that  the 
Bishop  of  Baltimore  had  also  been  a  professed 
Jesuit ;  the  coadjutor  of  Georgetown  only  a  nov- 
ice.* •  This  is  surely  a  brilliant  prospect  for  our 
holy  Religion,  which  never  comes  in  travail  but 
to  give  birth,  and  is  seldom  delivered  but  of 
twins.  Europe  has  brought  the  mother  in  travail 
by  sorrows  and  persecutions,  but  America  is  al- 
ready busy  nursing  the  new-born  twins,  who  will 
soon  grow  up  to  manly  strength.  Jesuits  and 
Trappists  will  know  how  to  force  the  devilish 
wolf  to  make  good  so  many  devoured  sheep. 

"  The  Dominicans  of  Bornheim,  Belgium,  four 
of  whom  are  already  settled  in  our  neighbor- 
hood, will  be  especially  useful  to  religion,  if 
they  succeed  in  obtaining  a  few  more    earnest 

*See  "The  Catholic  Church  in  the  United  States,"  by  De 
Gourcey,  peg.  71-73,  who  says  that  Coadjutor  Bishop  Neale  had 
just  pronounced  his  vows  when  the  Society  was  suppressed. 


148  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [18U7- 

workers  of  their  Order.  But  all  this  will  scarcely 
take  jDlace  before  my  death,  and  contributes  little 
to  my  own  individual  progress  in  virtue,  for 
which  I  alone  am  responsible,  and  I  alone  have 
to  fear." 

But  Father  Nerinckx  was  doing  his  share  to- 
ward the  astonishing  religious  awakening  which 
marked  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century 
in  America.  Of  the  results  of  his  eiforts,  we 
have  his  own  humble  and  almost  unconscious 
testimony ;  it  passes  over  in  silence  the  toils  and 
sacrifices  which  they  necessarily  imply.  Such  is 
the  customary  price  of  success.  "In  my  last 
letter,"  he  writes,*  "  I  called  your  attention  to 
the  spiritual  gains  lately  obtained.  They  con- 
sist principally  in  the  growing  number  of  catho- 
lics who  settle  in  this  region,  and  the  moving 
away  of  non-catholics.  New  churches  are 
rapidly  multiplying,  and  the  old  ones  are  en- 
laro-ed  and  embellished.  There  is  also  a  marked 
improvement  in  our  graveyards,  in  which  I 
have  every  adult's  grave  adorned  with  a  cross 
five  feet  high,  and  every  child's  w^ith  one  of 
three  feet,  which  the  relations  of  the  deceased 
must  have  in  readiness  before  I  perform  the 
burial  services.  Every  Sunday  and  holiday, 
after  Mass,  I  go  in  procession  with  the  choir  to 
the  grave  of  the  last  deceased,  wdiere  we  sing 
the  Miserere  or  the  Dies  Irae  in  English,  at  the 

*  Letters  of  1807.      Cfr.    Letters  of  BoUandist  Library,  Brus- 
sels. 


1808.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  149 

close  of  which  I  make  a  short  speech  on  death 
or  prayers  for  the  dead. 

"  The  great  pastime  of  our  population  consists 
in  racing,  the  horses  running  for  premiums, 
and  they  take  great  delight  in  it.  It  is  often  at- 
tended by  deathly  accidents  and  is  the  source  of 
many  sins.  It  is  hard  to  keep  our  catholics 
from  these  amusements,  but  they  have  given  up 
balls  and  dances,  which  are,  however,  much  fre- 
quented by  non-catholics.     .     .     . 

"  Here,  like  every-where  else,  it  was  custom- 
ary to  run  out  of  church  immediately  after  Holy 
Communion.  I  have  remedied  this  sad  indiffer- 
ence toward  the  holiest  of  our  mysteries,  by  as- 
sembling all  those  who  approach  the  Holy  Table, 
and  reading  aloud  acts  of  thanksgiving ,  followed 
by  the  recitation  of  the  Rosary  to  gain  the  in- 
dulgences. 

"  I  should  also  mention  that  I  have  at  present 
some  twenty  persons,  white  and  black,  under  in- 
struction who  desire  to  join  the  church  ;  I  have 
received  several  this  year.  Five  or  six  couples, 
who  were  married  out  of  the  church,  have 
begged  to  be  admitted  to  public  penance.    .     .    . 

"  Owing  to  the  preparatory  exercises  which  I 
introduced,  first  communion  is  received  with 
much  more  devotion  and  fruit  than  heretofore. 
Persons  who  are  about  to  enter  the  matrimonial 
state  also  have  to  prepare  themselves  by  a  re- 
treat, before  being  admitted  to  it ;  and  the  num- 
ber of  those  who  attempt  to  marry  persons  of 
other  denominations  or  of  their  own  kindred  is 


150  I^IFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINOKX.         [1S07- 

considerably  diminished.  None  are  admitted  to 
the  wedding  feast  except  parents,  brothers,  sis- 
ters, uncles,  and  aunts ;  no  cousins  or  strangers, 
except  the  witnesses,  can  attend.  And  as  they 
used  to  object  here,  as  every  where  else,  that 
Jesus  and  Mary  attended  the  wedding"  of  Cana, 
in  G-alilee,  I  have  insisted  upon  their  not  ex- 
cluding these  Holy  Persons,  and,  as  a  conse- 
quence, I  direct  the  bride  and  bridegroom  to 
say  aloud  with  all  those  present  at  the  feast,  the 
whole  Rosary  immediately  after  sunset,  and 
most  of  our  catholics  are  faithful  to  my  injunc- 
tions. 

"  But  I  must  tell  you  all  about  our  procession 
on  the  octave  of  Corpus  Christi  of  this  year 
(1807).  It  is  the  third  one  we  had  at  Holy  Cross 
church  within  a  year  and  a  half ;  I  have  it  regu- 
larly in  my  own  congregation.  Three  men  on 
horseback  opened  the  march,  the  middle  one 
carrying  a  silk  flag  surmounted  by  a  large  cross, 
the  two  others  holding  huge  green  boughs  in 
their  hands.  Another  man  in  the  dress  of  an 
acolyte  followed  them  with  the  processional 
cross,  heading  the  double  row  of  people,  consist- 
ing of  boys,  girls,  and  grown-up  people,  march- 
ing two  and  two,  carrying  green  branches  instead 
of  torches,  and  forming  a  line  of  march  three 
miles  long;  many  non-catholics  were  present. 
At  distances  of  twenty  paces  a  leader  marched 
in  the  middle  of  the  lines,  saying  the  holy  Rosary, 
which  all  answered  aloud.  The  canopy,  which 
I  had  made  myself,  was  held  aloft  by  four  men, 


18.JS.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINX'KX.  151 

and  immediately  behind  the  Blessed  Sacrament 
followed  fourteen  armed  men,  led  by  a  uniformed 
sero-eant.  Three  other  men  on  horseback,  also 
uniformed,  with  drawn  swords,  brought  up  the 
rear,  and  held  back  the  surging  crowxl  following 
and  saying  the  beads.  Choirs  of  men  and  women 
sung  alternately  hymns  in  honor  of  the  Blessed 
Eucharist,  until  we  arrived  at  the  residence  of 
the  Trappists,  where  a  repository  altar  had  been 
erected.  Rev.  Badin,  assisted  by  two  Domini- 
cans, officiated,  and  I  acted  as  master  of  cere- 
monies ;  a  squad  of  horsemen  acting  as  marshals 
saw  that  every  thing  proceeded  in  an  orderly 
manner,  and  every  thing  passed  off  with  more 
decorum  and  piety  than  the  most  enthusiastic 
had  dared  anticipate.  Our  rites  and  ceremonies 
exert  a  powerful  influence  upon  sectarians,  many 
of  whom  are  fa  Adorably  impressed  by  them,  and 
are  led  to  investigate  the  claims  of  the  catholic 
church  on  their  allegiance,  and  are  led  into  its 
fold.     .     .     . 

"  Feast  of  St.  Augustin,  August  28,  1807.— 
This  day  I  received  into  the  church  eight  per- 
sons, converts  from  various  sects  whose  false 
tenets  they  have  repudiated.     .     .     . 

"  Lent  is  kept  very  strictly.  Lard  in  the 
preparation  of  food  is  allowed  every  day,  but  we 
have  to  abstain  from  meat  the  first  four  days  of 
Lent,  the  entire  Holy  Week,  and  on  Mondays, 
Wednesdays,  Fridays,  and  Saturdays  of  every 
week.  This  year  (1807)  we  were  dispensed  on 
Mondays.    On  the  days  that  meat  is  allowed,  we 


152  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  XERINCKX.         [1807- 

€an  use  only  one  kind  and  one  course,  a  practice 
that  is  kept  up  the  whole  year  round,  although 
it  is  not  ordered  by  the  church.  Lent,  as  well 
as  the  rest  of  the  year,  rs  wonderfully  free  from 
all  diseases  wdiich  might  be  caused  by  fish-bones, 
since  the  animals  that  might  harm  us  that  way 
are  totally  banished  from  these  regions. 

"  Every  night,  and  in  every  house,  besides  the 
■customary  evening  prayers,  which  are  said  in 
€ommon  the  whole  year  through,  even  in  the 
houses  of  mixed  catholics,  they  say  the  Litany 
of  all  the  Saints,  and  if  they  can  not  read,  the 
Rosary.  Since  jN^ew  Year's,  we  have  encouraged 
our  people  to  come  together  every  morning  be- 
fore daylight,  and  say  the  prayers  aloud  in  com- 
mon, a  pious  practice  which  many  follow." 

Little  did  the  pious  priest  think,  that,  what 
he  looked  upon  as  pious  practices,  were  soon  to 
become  the  text  of  malevolent  accusations 
against  him. 

Nor  did  Father  Nerinckx  neglect  the  material 
progress  of  his  numerous  congregations.  Among 
the  following  notes  relating  to  his  missions,  will 
be  found  several  facts  relating  to  missions  out- 
side of  his  field  of  labor.  As  we  do  not  deem  it 
foreign  to  the  scope  of  this  work  to  notice  items 
of  interest  for  the  history  of  the  catholic  church 
all  over  the  United  States,  we  refrain  from  cur- 
tailing their  contents. 

"August  17,  1807. — I  have  prevailed  upon 
Tather  Badin  to  undertake  the  difficult  journey 


1808.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  153 

of  seven  hundred  and  fifty  miles  to  Baltimore, 
to  further,  as  much  as  possible,  the  interests  of 
this  incipient  church  ;  I  expect  the  most  consol- 
ing results  from  this  truly  painful  undertaking. 
I  am  now  practically  left  alone  on  the  mission. 
A  Bishop,  and  some  priests  rich  in  virtue  and 
talents,  is  what  we  now  want ;  and  I  pray  the 
good  Grod  to  grant  them  to  us. 

"  I  just  now  come  home  from  Holy  Mary's, 
where,  after  being  much  thwarted,  I  have  finally 
succeeded  in  making  the  contract  for  an  altar 
which  is  to  cost  $160,  part  of  which  I  defray  my- 
self. Made  after  my  own  designs,  it  will  be  inlaid 
with  different  kinds  of  wood,  and  have  a  niche 
flanked  with  columns,  in  which  I  intend  to  place 
my  statue  of  the  Blessed  Virgin ;  the  beautiful 
crucifix  from  the  chisel  of  Laurent  of  Mechlin, 
will  be  quite  an  ornament  to  the  altar. 

"  October  28,  1807.— Father  Badin's  first  let- 
ters have  reached  me.  He  writes  from  Wheeling, 
a  city  on  the  Ohio  and  about  half  way  to  Balti- 
more, where  people  going  to  Kentucky  generally 
take  the  boat  to  sail  down  the  river :  '  Septem- 
ber 26,  1807. — Last  Sunday  I  said  Mass  in 
Washington,  an  incipient  town  of  Kentucky,  four 
miles  from  the  Ohio  frontier.  I  preached  in 
the  court-house,  several  representatives,  and  fif- 
teen catholic  families  whom  I  had  apprised  of 
my  arrival  through  the  newspapers,  being  pres- 
ent. There  are  about  thirty  catholic  families, 
who   had   not   had   a   chance  to  hear  Mass  for 


154  I'lFE  ()F  IJEV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1807- 

years.*  Almost  every  day  and  in  every  settle- 
ment through  which  I  passed,  I  have  found 
catholic  families  of  every  nationality — French,. 
Italian,  Irish,  Gferman,  and  American.  By  to- 
morrow evening  I  will  be  in  the  midst  of  catho- 
lic settlements,  which,  people  tell  me,  are  situ- 
ated all  along  the  road  to  Baltimore.  Nothing 
but  catholics  all  along  the  road!  God  only 
knows  how  many  live  in  the  backwoods,  ^nd  not 
one  priest !  I  derived  great  consolation  from  a 
German  catholic  settlement  of  twelve  families, 
who  have  bought  three  hundred  and  twenty 
acres  of  good  land  for  a  church ;  they  entreated 
me  to  pray  to  God  that  none  should  die  without 
having  received  the  Sacraments  of  Holy  Church. 
They  had  not  seen  a  priest  for  many  years,  and 
I  promised  to  say  Mass  for  them  at  my  return. 
I  have  charged  two  catholic  gentlemen  to  buy  a 
lot  or  farm  in  my  name  to  build  a  church  in  New 
Lancaster,  a  rising  town  thirteen  miles  from  the 
above  German  settlement,  I  received  several 
persons  into  the  church,  baptized  some  children, 
and  noted  down  the  number  of  catholic  indi- 
viduals and  families.  The  Methodists,  a  new 
protestant  sect,  of  which  I  spoke  to  you  some 

*  Major  Erkuries  Beatty  has  the  following  in  his  diary  about 
W6/s/a>(^/o/v,  under  elate  September  2,  J 780:  "Crossed  the  North 
Fork  of  Licking  about  fifteen  miles  from  the  Blue  Licks.  .  .  . 
Four  miles  further  on,  we  came  to  a  quite  nice  village  called 
Washington,  within  five  miles  of  Limestone.  .  .  .  These 
people  first  began  to  build  this  place  entirely  in  the  woods  last 
Christmas;  and  now,  1  suppose,  there  are  forty  houses  in  it, 
chiefly  indifferent  log  ones  and  rather  scattered."  Magazine  of 
American  History,  April,  1877,  pg.  310. 


1808.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  155 

time  ago  as  Philistines,  play  their  pranks  about 
Washington,  Ky.  Twenty  ministers,  with  their 
so-called  Bishop  of  Baltimore,  assembled  last 
week  in  the  town,  and  converted  ever  so  many 
sinners,  viz :  had  them  fall  to  the  ground  like 
possessed  by  the  devil  and  dance  liko  Corybants  ; 
the  religious  exercises  of  this  people  are  as 
foolish  as  they  are  sinful.  The  savages,  who 
were  thought  to  be  preparing  for  war  against 
the  whites,  are  gathered  in  CMllicothe,  not  far 
from  Wheeling,  having  at  their  head  a  Baptist 
minister  who  acts  as  interpreter  and  who  has 
been  several  years  with  them.  They  declared, 
in  a  public  audience  granted  to  them  by  the 
governor  of  Ohio,  that  their  intentions  were 
peaceful ;  their  only  object  in  assembling  was  ta 
accustom  themselves  to  the  manner  of  living  of 
the  whites,  viz :  to  live  in  towns,  to  till  the 
ground,  to  become  christians,  etc.,  etc.  If  meas- 
ures are  not  taken  to  supply  them  with  priests, 
according  to  the  treaty  entered  into  with  the 
United  States,  which  promised  the  Indians  to 
give  them  Black  Robes,  this,  our  inheritance, 
will  fall  into  the  hands  of  protestant  ministers 
who  have  no  right  to  it.' 

"  These  are  the  most  important  items  given 
me  by  Father  Badin.  Xo  doubt  he  will  have  a 
great  deal  more  to  tell  after  his  return ;  but  is 
not  this  sufficient  for  a  priest  to  wish  he  had  the 
wings  of  the  eagle,  to  fly  to  the  help  of  these  un- 
fortunate people?     .     .     .     Father  Badin  also 


156  ^IFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.        [1807- 

«arnestly  requests   priests  for  the  frontiers  of 
Spain  and  America. 

"  The  Superior  of  the  Trappists  has  lately 
received  a  letter  from  the  Bishop  of  Quebec,  in 
Canada,  to  whom  he  had  written  for  help,  that 
religious  affairs  are  in  a  pitiful  condition  in  that 
region,  owing  to  the  harshness  of  the  English 
government  toward  catholics;  it  refuses  to  al- 
low the  foundation  of  any  religious  community. 
The  Bishop  also  mentions  that  he  has  consecrated 
^  Bishop  for  Asia. 

"//^  Boston,  where  a  zealous  Doctor  of  Sor- 
bonne  *  was  almost  stoned  to  death,  because  he 
tried  to  plant  the  catholic  religion  in  the  city, 
the  same  reverend  gentleman  is  now  building  a 
second  church.  If  rumors  are  true,  he  will  be 
one  of  the  new  Bishops. 

"The  Right  Rev.  Bishop  of  Baltimore  has 
been  seriously  wounded  by  being  thrown  out  of 
his  carriage ;  but  I  learn,  through  Father  Badin, 
that  he  has  already  recovered. 

"A  Methodist  preacher  is  receiving  instruc- 
tions preparatory  to  his  reception  in  the  church. 
Fevers  are  prevailing,  and  not  a  few  die 
of  them;  they  buried  yesterday  the  tenth 
one  who  died  without  sacraments,  owing  to  the 
want  of  priests.  Several  of  these  were  advanced 
in  age,  and  had  not  yet  made  their  first  com- 
munion. My  own  sickness  may  have  been  the 
cause  of  some  dying  without  the  priest.     .     .     . 

*  Louis  de  Cheverus  was  consecrated  first  Bishop  of  Boston, 
November  1,  1808. 


1808.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  157 

"  October  25,  1807.— Rev.  Charles  Guny,  who 
came  with  me  to  America,  and  the  Canadian 
priest  spoken  of,  made  their  profession  at  the 
Trappist  convent  this  week.     .     .     . 

"  December,  1807. — I  had  suffered  so  long  from 
the  fever  that  I  fin^illy  bethought  myself  of  the 
chapel  in  Brabant,"  where  people  used  to  go  to 
get  rid  of  it.  I  resolved  to  take  my  recourse  to 
the  same  means,  having  in  vain  used  all  known 
remedies.  After  a  novena,  I  celebrated  Mass 
in  honor  of  St.  Petronilla,  and  before  I  was 
through  saying  it,  I  was  perfectly  cured.    .    .    . 

"  February  23,  1808. — Father  Badin,  who  has 
returned  from  Baltimore,  has  received  a  letter 
from  Knoxville,  Tennessee,  two  hundred  miles 
from  here,  requesting  him  to  go  and  visit  the 
catholic  families  living  there,  who  never  yet  saw 
a  priest.  I  should  not  wonder  if  I  had  to  go 
there  myself,  it  being  Father  Badin's  intention 
to  go  to  Post  Vincennes.  Ah!  if  we  had 
priests !     .     .     . 

"March  10,  1808.— The  two  trunks  and  the 
pictures  which  you  [his  Belgian  friends]  sent  us, 
arrived  in  Baltimore  last  December.  The  Ecce 
Homo  painting  forms  the  altar-piece  of  St, 
Charles,  the  Croivninrj  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  that  of 
Holy  Mary's,  and  the  Assumption  of  the  Messed 
Virgin  that  of  St.  Joseph's  church.  The  Visita- 
tion is  reserved  for  the  Convent  church ;  the 
statue  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  for  St.  Stephen's, 
and  the  Flagellation  for  St.  Barbara's  church. 
The   chasubles   have   been   equally   distributed 


158  LIFE  OF  EEV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1807- 

among  us ;  the  bell  I  intended  to  give  to  our 
future  Bishop,  together  with  the  beautiful  mis- 
sal of  the  President  of  Oudenrode,  the  new  gilt 
ciborium  and  monstrance.  My  catechism  bell 
of  Meerbeke  calls  us  here  to  morning  and  even- 
ing prayers  and  to  Mass ;  it  is  the  first  one  ever 
heard  in  these  regions.  A  silver  pixis,  relics,  a 
clock,  books,  statues,  beads,'  etc.,  have  been  sent 
to  me  from  friends  in  Antwerp,  Ninove,  Aelst, 
Dendermonde,  Mechlin,  etc. 

•'Pentecost  Week,  1808. — Two  weeks  ago,  I 
sang  the  first  High  Mass  at  the  new  altar  of 
Holy  Mary's.  The  altar  is  forty  feet  high.  A 
new  pulpit  and  communion  railing  make  the 
church  look  as  new  inside,  and  the  outside 
is  graced  with  a  steeple,  upon  which  I  myself 
planted  the  Cross.  St.  Charles  is  as  well  pro- 
vided, but  has  no  steeple.  I  hope  to  finish  soon 
St.  Clara's  church,  twenty-four  miles  from  here, 
the  foundations  of  which  I  have  already  laid, 
and  St.  Bernard's,  sixty  miles  from  the  one  just 
mentioned.  The  Dominicans  are  building  a 
beautiful  brick  chapel  on  their  premises. 

"Father  Badin  just  arrives  from  Post  Yin- 
cennes.  He  there  buried,  in  the  presence  of  the 
United  States  governor,  whose  guest  he  was  dur- 
ing his  stay  at  the  Post,  and  of  many  Indians, 
one  of  the  neighboring  Indian  kings  or  chiefs, 
who  was  still  young  and  had  been  baptized  a 
short  time  previous  to  his  death.  Father  Badin 
preached  to  the  assembled  Indians  thrcuigh  an 
interpreter,  and   the   troops   rendered   military 


1808.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  159 

honors  to  the  brave's  remains.  He  has  great 
hopes  for  the  conversion  of  these  people. 

"Octave  of  Corpus  Christi,  1808.— I  cele- 
brated the  feast  in  St.  Charles.  Last  Sunday  I 
officiated  at  Holy  Mary's,  where  we  held  the 
first  procession  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament ;  and 
next  Thursday  we  will  have  the  most  solemn 
]3rocession  ever  seen  in  this  State,  or  perhaps  in 
JN'orth  America,  outside  of  Canada. 

"June  27,  1808. — Came  home  this  evening 
from  St.  Clara's  congregation.  The  church  is 
finished  up  to  the  roof.  I  intend  to  build  a 
steeple  (I  usually  make  them  twenty-three  feet 
above  the  ridge  of  the  roof,  with  cross  and 
weather-vane),  in  hopes  of  obtaining  a  bell. 

"  St.  Clara's  church  is  built  on  a  hill.  Many 
non-catholics  have  subscribed  for  it.  God  re- 
ward them  with  the  gift  of  faith. 

"  Father  Urban,  Superior  of  the  Trappists,  is 
expected  to  be  here  soon  on  his  return  from  the 
Illinois  region,  where  he  went  to  look  up  advan- 
tageous settlements  for  new  missionaries."* 

*  MSS.  letters  of  the  Bollandist  Library,  College  of  St.  Michel, 
Brussels. 


CHAPTER  X. 

1806-1808. 
Father  Nerinckx'    piety. — His  daily  life. — His  zeal  for  the 

SPIRITUAL     PROGRESS    OF    HIS    PEOPLE. — ThE     DOMINICANS. — ThEIR 
ADVENT    THE     OCCASION     OF     PETTY   PERSECUTIONS    AGAINST    FaTHER 

Nerinckx. — Father  Nerinckx  asks   to   retire  to   some   Otheb- 

FIELD    OF    labor. — YiELDS    TO    BiSHOP     CaRROLl's    ADVICE,    AND    RE- 
MAINS IN  Kentucky. 

Father  Neeinckx  was  a  man  of  extraordi- 
nary piety  and  mortification,  and  aimed  at  the 
perfection  of  the  catholic  priesthood.  The  fact 
that  all  his  writings  were  destroyed,  after  his 
death,  prevents  us  from  giving  accurate  details 
of  virtues  and  daily  practices,  which  every  pious 
soul  must  divine,  and  which  made  his  faith  and 
love  of  God  shine  forth  with  such  brilliancy  as- 
to  stir  up  to  piety  even  the  imperfect  christians 
of  these  early  days.  Says  Bishop  Flaget,  for- 
fourteen  years  a  witness  of  his  works,  writing  to 
Bishop  England,  of  Charleston  :  * 

"  During  the  last  forty  years  of  his  life,  Mr. 
Nerinckx  had  labored  for  the  glory  of  Grod  and 
the  good  of  his  neighbor,  with  a  constancy,  an 
activity,  and  a  zeal  seldom  equaled,  never  per- 

*  U.  S.  Catholic  Miscellany,  December  8,  1824. 
(160) 


1806-8.]      LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  161 

haps  surpassed.  His  whole  life  had  been  one 
continued  voluntary  martyrdom  and  holocaust. 
^'^He  contemned  this  world,  and  panted  only  for 
heaven ;  but  he  ardently  wished  to  go  to  para- 
dise with  a  numerous  escort  of  souls,  whom  he 
had  been  instrumental  in  rescuing  from  perdition 
and  leading  to  salvation.  This  thought  seemed 
to  engross  his  whole  mind  and  soul,  and  his  life 
was  but  a  carrying  out  of  it." 

A  catholic  priest  can  ambition  no  higher 
praise  from  the  mouth  of  his  Bishop ;  and  that 
it  was  a  well-deserved  encomium  is  abundantly 
proved  by  a  short  account  of  his  daily  life  which 
Father  Nerinckx  sent  to  his  parents  in  1805: 
"  We  have  some  twenty-four  missions  to  attend 
to.  The  most  remote  church  is  sixty  miles  from 
here,*  but  we  are  sometimes  called  as  far  as  one 
hundred  and  eighty  miles  in  either  direction. 
This  does  not  happen  often;  but,  thank  God, 
when  it  does  happen,  I  do  not  suifer  from  riding 
on  horseback  as  I  used  to.  Three  hours  in 
the  saddle  fatigued  me  very  much ;  now,  I  have 
traveled  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  on  horse- 
back in  two  nights  and  one  day,  through  bad 
roads  and  all  kinds  of  weather,  and  1  stood  it 
better  than  I  e-xpected. 

"My  usual  occupations  during  the  week  are 
as  follows  :  On  Sunday  morning  I  am  in  the  sad- 
dle about  four  o'clock  a.  m.  so  as  to  reach  one  of 

*  MSS.  letter,  written  from  Holy  Mary's  at  the  Rolling  Fork^ 
1805-6.    Sup.  at. 


162  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1806- 

my  mission  churches  about  half-past  six.  I 
there  find  a  crowd  of  people  awaiting  my  com- 
ing to  go  to  confession.  We  first  say  the  morn- 
ing prayers,  followed  by  meditation;  I  then 
give  them  an  instruction  on  the  sacrament  of 
penance  and  prepare  them  for  it.  At  intervals 
of  half  an  hour,  marked  by  my  ringing  a  bell 
from  the  sacristy  where  I  am  hearing  confes- 
sions, one  of  the  congregation,  whom  I  designate 
myself,  says  the  beads  at  a  determined  intention, 
until  about  eleven  o'clock,  when  I  vest  for  Mass. 
Before  beginning  the  Holy  Sacrifice  I  deliver  a 
short  address,  and  I  preach  after  the  reading  of 
the  Gospel.  After  Mass,  during  which  the  peo- 
ple usually  sing  some  English  hymns,  I  have 
the  children  pray  for  special  intentions  as  I  did 
in  Meerbeke.  The  congregation  is  dismissed 
between  one  and  two  P.  M.,  when  I  baptize  in- 
fants and  bury  the  dead.  Seldom  do  I  eat  any 
thing  before  four  o'clock  except  some  water  and 
milk ;  and  it  happens  that  some  one  is  ready  to 
take  me  out  on  a  sick  call  of  twenty  or  more 
miles  by  the  time  I  have  had  a  bite. 

"  This  is  my  order  of  the  day  for  Sundays  and 
four  of  the  six  week  days.  I  hear  confessions 
every  afternoon  until  seven,  in  Summer  until 
eight  or  nine  o'clock  p.  M. ;  so  that  I  have  to 
figure  closely  to  find  time  to  say  my  office.  To- 
day, November  8,  1805,  I  was  still  giving  Holy 
Communion  at  five  p.  M.,  and  that  happens  al- 
most daily.  I  spend  the  other  two  days  at  St. 
Stephen's  with  Father  Badin;   and  as  soon  as 


1808.]         LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  163 

the  people  know  that  the  priests  are  at  home,  we 
need  not  think  of  rest. 

"  I  also  undertook  five  weeks  ago  a  very  hard 
work,  viz.,  to  prepare  the  young  ladies  above 
fourteen  years  of  age  for  their  first  communion  ; 
they  number  ninety  in  my  three  congregations. 
The  exercises  last  seven  weeks,  and  a  few  days 
of  each  week  are  set  apart  for  spiritual  exercises. 
To  attend  a  dance,  or  to  be  unbecomingly  dressed, 
is  punished  by  refusal  of  admission  to  first  com- 
munion, and  I  succeed  wonderfully  well  in  abol- 
ishing these  abuses.  Those  of  the  first  class  in 
St.  Charles,  who  were  sufficiently  instructed, 
made  their  first  communion  on  the  name's  day  of 
their  holy  Patron  Saint.  I  now  call  up  a  new  class 
of  those  who  are  from  twelve  to  fourteen  years 
old.     It  is  the  hardest  work  I  ever  undertook." 

Father  Nerinckx  thoroughly  understood  that 
that  day  was  going  to  influence  their  whole  lives ; 
hence  he  bent  all  his  energy  to  their  worthy 
^preparation.  He  had,  moreover,  that  which  is 
the  life  of  the  priest — a  lively  faith  in  our  Divine 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  present  in  the  Blessed  Euchar- 
ist, and  a  reverence  which  made  him  look  upon 
the  best  endeavors  of  man  as  a  feeble  efi'ort  to 
be  less  unworthy.  "Nothing,"  says  Bishop 
Flaget,*  "  could  exceed  the  devotion  of  Mr.  Ner- 
inckx  to  the  Holy  Sacrament  of  our  altars ;  in 
this  respect  he  Avas  a  model  for  every  clergyman. 
In  his  churches,  you  saw  only  plainness  except 
about  the  altar ;  but  his  devotion  led  him  to  aim 

*  United  States  Catholic  Miscellany,  ut  supra. 


164  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NEIIINCKX.         [1S06- 

at  magnificence  in  this  place,  especially  as  re- 
garded the  tabernacle,  which  was  to  contain  the 
Holy  of  Holies.  Every  thing  connected  with 
the  Holy  Mysteries  called  forth  the  exercise  of 
this  devotion.  Never  did  he  permit  a  day  to 
pass  without  celebrating  Mass,  unless  grievously 
ill,  or  engaged  in  a  long  journey;  and  a  rule  of 
his  monasteries  is  to  keep  up,  even  during  the 
night,  the  perpetual  adoration,  by  a  succession 
of  two  sisters  to  two  sisters,  before  the  Holy 
Sacrament,  to  pay  their  homage  to  the  God  who 
loved  us  so  dearly,  as,  after  having  suffered  death 
for  us,  to  give  us,  under  the  sacramental  veils, 
His  flesh  to  eat ;  and  to  repair  in  some  degree, 
the  disrespect  with  which  this  Sacrament  is 
treated  by  the  ingratitude  of  the  human  race. 

"  This  good  man  had  also  great  filial  piety  to 
Mary,  the  Mother  of  Jesus,  and  he  desired  to  ex- 
cite this  aifection  for  the  mother  of  our  Saviour 
in  all  those  with  whom  he  had  any  intercourse. 
He  admired  her  spirit  of  patient  love  and 
resignation  in  sufferings,  especially  when  she  be- 
held her  dearly  beloved — her  Creator  and  her 
Son — upon  that  cross,  at  the  foot  of  which  she 
was  weeping.  Often  did  the  pious  ejaculation 
which  he  was  in  the  habit  of  teaching  to  others, 
escape  from  his  own  lips :  '  Oh !  Sufi*ering  Jesus ! 
Oh!  Sorrowful  Mary!'  In  all  the  churches 
which  he  attended  he  established  the  Society  of 
the  Holy  Rosary,  and  the  Confraternity  and 
Sisterhood  of  the  Scapular ;  and  almost  all  the 


1808.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  165 

catholics  of  his  congregations  are  still  enrolled 
in  one  or  more  of  those  pious  societies. 

"Nothing  could  be  more  edifying  than  his 
piety  toward  the  dead.  It  is  quite  impossible 
to  pass  by  any  of  the  numerous  cemeteries  which 
he  has  laid  out,  without  feeling  deep  sentiments 
of  religion,  and  having  a  sweet  sensation  of  deep 
melancholy,  blended  with  the  hope  of  the  christian. 
In  the  midst  of  each  abode  of  the  dead  is  reared 
the  glorious  emblem  of  the  christian's  faith, 
a  large  cross,  surrounded  by  a  balustrade  for  the 
convenience  of  the  pious  friends  who  come  to 
pray  for  their  departed  brethren.  At  the  head 
of  each  grave,  you  will  find  the  emblematic 
cross,  inscribed  with  the  dates  of  the  birth, 
death,  and  the  name  of  the  brother  or  sister  whose 
bones  are  there  laid  up  in  the  hope  of  resurrec- 
tion. .  .  .  He  never  permitted  a  week  to 
pass  without  offering  up  a  Mass  for  the  repose 
of  the  departed. 

"  His  love  of  retirement  was  such  that  he 
never  paid  a  visit  of  mere  ceremony.  Indeed, 
he  never  visited,  except  when  the  good  of  his 
neighbor  or  the  duty  of  his  ministry  made  it 
obligatory  on  him  to  do  so.  His  watching, 
even  during  his  longest  and  most  painful  jour- 
neys, were  very  long,  and  were  always  spent 
either  in  study  or  in  prayer.  Prayer  appeared 
to  be  his  greatest  and  only  solace,  in  the  midst 
of  his  continual  labors." 

Left  to  himself,  in  what  is  little  less  than  a 
wilderness,  deprived  of  the  exterior  pomp  and 


166  L^FE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1806- 

majesty  of  the  catholic  ritual,  which  is,  we  may 
say,  a  necessary  help  to  spirit  and  truth,  and 
without  which  the  most  lively  faith  is   apt  to 
grow  cold,  the  missionary  pioneer  has  but  too 
often  to  forego  all  these  pious  practices  of  more 
privileged  catholic  regions,  where  religious  soci- 
eties and  sodalities  keep  alive  and  set  aglow  the 
spiritual  life  of  their  inhabitants.    Busy  forming 
congregations  and  building  churches;   roaming 
through  the  woods  from  settlement  to  settlement, 
continually  on  the  go  from  house  to  house,  cele- 
brating   the    Holy   Mysteries;    fasting   almost 
every  day  in  the  year,  in  order  to  give  to  the 
hurriedly  collected  people  a  chance  to  go  to  con- 
fession   and    holy    communion;    and    hurrying 
away  again  to  some  distant  station  where  others 
equally  desirous   of  fulfilling   their   duties    are 
anxiously  awaiting  his  coming — it  is  an  almost 
impossible  task  for  the  priest  to  attend  to  the 
less   essential  practices   of  religion,  implied  in 
the  .establishment  of  devotional  societies,  seem- 
ingly doomed  to  vegetate  and  die  out  in  his  ab- 
sence.   But  Father  Nerinckx  was  too  essentially 
a  "Spiritual  man,"  not  to  try  to  have  his  people 
gather  that  spiritual  manna  of  devotion  in  the 
desert.     The  additional  faculties  which   he  ob- 
tained from  Bishop  Carroll  *  for  the  benefit  of 
his  flock,  prove  beyond  a  doubt  his  solicitude 
in  this  respect. 

Intent  upon   the   advancement   of  the   souls 
committed  to  his   care   in   the   science   of  the 

*See  Sup.,  pg.  54. 


1808.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  16T 

Saints,  he  insisted  upon  their  complying  with 
the  rules  and  regulations  he  laid  down  for  their 
daily  conduct.  The  greater  number  thankfully 
received  his  ministrations,  and  endeavored  to 
live  up  to  the  model  of  perfection  he  constantly 
held  before  their  eyes.  But  the  devil,  who  is  al- 
ways ready  to  thwart  the  exertions  of  the  good, 
stirred  up  a  few  evil  ones,  who  took  a  pretext 
from  Father  Nerinckx'  severity  to  persecute 
him :  "It  is  also  my  lot,"  he  writes  to  Bishop 
Carroll,  June  2,  1806,  "to  be  persecuted  by 
some,  and  to  be  annoyed  by  a  rather  intense 
hatred,  giving  itself  vent  in  threats  against  my 
life;  whilst  others,  not  inferior  in  numbers, 
prove  themselves  to  be  religious,  docile,  willing, 
and  fervent  in  all  practices  of  piety,  and  are  not 
badly  aifected  toward  me.  I  can  hardly  see  in 
what  I  am  displeasing  to  my  persecutors  ;  surely 
not  in  temporal  matters,  since  I  have  received 
nothing,  and  have  given  the  half  of  my  annuity 
toward  the  restoration  of  the  church.  How- 
ever, this  will  not  benefit  the  church  any,  for 
the  religion  of  this  people  does  not  go  so  far  as 
to  practice  sacred  liberality.  They  hardly  ever 
understood,  or  truly  believed,  that  there  is  a 
God,  or  that  man  has  a  soul.  I  think,  however, 
that  the  bawls  of  these  lunatics  are  especially 
owing  to  the  fact  that  he  who  keeps  them  pris- 
oners in  the  infernal  darkness,  admonished  by 
the  word  of  God,  and  fearing  to  be  expelled 
from  them,  torments  these  miserable  beings 
above  measure.     But  we  know  that  these  con- 


168  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1806- 

tradictions  are  the  daily  food  and  delicacies  of 
the  apostolic  laborers  after  their  works  and  fa- 
tigues." *  I 

Father  Nerinckx  tried  to  stem  the  evil  by 
public  reproof;  but  the  rebels  only  grew  bolder, 
confident  that  the  Dominican  Fathers  would  up- 
hold them,  or  at  least  be  more  lenient  with  them 
than  their  pastors. 

These  religious  had  arrived  in  the  United 
States  in  1805,  and  after  a  short  stay  in  Balti- 
more had  removed  to  Kentucky  in  the  Spring  of 
1806.  Father  Fenwick,  accompanied  by  Father 
Wilson,  purchased  a  farm  in  Washington  county, 
and  established  the  Convent  of  St.  Rose  of  Lima, 
thus  becomino^  the  founder  of  the  Order  of  St. 
Dominic  in  America,  the  superiorship  of  which 
he  soon  resigned  into  the  hands  of  Father  Wil- 
son. 

"  The  Dominicans,"  writes  Father  Nerinckx, 
in  1807,t  "have  permanently  settled  in  St. 
Ann's  congregation,  which  I  attended  up  to  this 
time,  some  ten  miles  from  our  home.  They  pay 
$5,000  for  a  farm  of  five  hundred  acres,  ori 
which  there  is  a  stone  dwelling  of  two  stories 
with  out-houses,  and  a  saw  and  grist  mill,  with 
sufiicient  water  power  to  run  them  both  six 
months  in  the  year.  They  reside  two  miles 
from  ^iwing fields  our  county  town,  which  has  fifty 
or  sixty  houses,  and  where  a  lot  has  been  set 
apart  for  a  catholic  church  which  is  not  yet  be- 

*  Baltimore  ISLSS. 

J  MSS.  letter  in  the  Bollandist  Library,  Brussels. 


1808]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  169 

gun.  They  have  called  their  residence  St.  Rose, 
after  St.  Rose  of  Lima,  the  first  and  only  known 
American  Saint  who  belonged  to  their  Order. 
The  Fathers  have  already  ten  or  twelve  students, 
out  of  whom  they  may  perhaps  gain  a  few  to  in- 
crease their  community.  This  appears  to  be 
their  only  object ;  they  do  not  intend  to  serve  on 
the  mission.  In  the  meantime  they  have  ac- 
cepted care  of  souls  in  St.  Ann's  congregation 
and  environs,  amounting  to  about  two  thousand 
souls ;  but  they  refuse  to  attend  distant  missions, 
and  our  work  is  scarcely  diminished.  .  .  ." 
Fathers  Badin  and  Nerinckx  had  hailed  their 
advent  with  genuine  delight,  and  gave  unspar- 
ing and  oft-repeated  praise  to  these  new  co- 
laborers.  But  they  had  been  trained  in  differ- 
ent schools ;  holding  the  same  principles,  they 
often  differed  in  their  practical  application,  a 
fact  which  made  their  opinions  clash  in  the  eyes 
of  the  people,  and  gave  the  discontented  a 
specious  reason  to  rebel. 

There  is  no  denying  the  fact,  that  in  the  last 
century  the  French  clergy  were  considerably 
tainted  by  the  Jansenistic  teachings,  which  up  to 
this  day  bear  their  bitter  fruits,  in  the  neglect 
of  the  sacraments  evinced  by  the  French  people, 
and  the  severity  of  the  Galilean  priests  in  the 
administration  of  the  Sacrament  of  Penance. 
Father  Badin  had  received  his  education  and 
most  of  his  theological  training  in  France ;  and 
Father  Nerinckx,  himself  no  laxist,  testifies  in 


\\\ 


170  LIFE  OF  r?EV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1806- 

his  letters  that  the  Vicar-general  was  "  of  more 
than  necessary  severity,  which,  if  tempered  with 
a  little  of  the  honey  of  kindness,  would  be  more 
palatable  to  the  people,  and  of  more  use  in  cur- 
ing inveterate  sinners  and  loathsome  wounds." 
The  same  spirit  had  pervaded  the  theological 
teachings  of  most  of  the  Belgian  Seminaries  ; 
and  not  only  had  Father  IS^erinckx  found  it  in 
his  books,  and  been  imbued  with  it  by  his  emi- 
nent professors,  but  he  had  practiced  its  rigorous 
teachings  for  well  nigh  twenty  years  in  the 
ministry  of  his  native  land,  where  he  had  found 
obedient  intellects  and  pliable  hearts.  No  won- 
der then,  if,  with  his  naturally  severe  character 
and  indomitable  energy,  he  strove  at  forming  his 
people  in  the  more  austere  practices  of  religion. 
The  few  writings  we  have  of  him  prove  that  he 
was  austere  unto  rigor,  that  the  ruling  motive 
of  his  piety  was  rather  fear  and  its  objects  than 
love ;  *   and   knowing   that  fear  usually   atfects 

*Tliis  does  not  go  to  prove  that  his  piety  was  false,  by  any 
means;  for,  piety,  founded  on  chaste  fear,  is  solid  and  true 
piety,  but  is  less  noble  and  perfect  than  piety  founded  on  love. 
As  a  reverend  friend  observed :  That  Father  Nerinckx  was  a 
man  of  extraordinary  piety  and  great  love  of  God,  I  do  not 
think  admits  of  any  doubt  whatever.  I  really  believe  him  to 
have  been  a  man  of  heroic  virtue,  in  the  strict  technical  sense 
of  the  terms.  Nor  is  this  adverse,  in  my  meaning,  to  the  fact 
that,  following  the  authors  then  studied  in  the  seminaries,  he 
was  an  extreme  man  in  some  things,  and  was  moved  rather  by 
fear  than  by  love.  St.  Liguori's  piety  seems  to  me  to  have  been 
informed  mainly  by  fear.  The  more  amiable  St.  Francis  de 
Sales  had  piety  that  always  breathed  the  sweetness  of  love;  both 
were  saints,  and  great  saints.  St.  Ignatius'  piety  is  full  of  intel- 
lect; of  intellect  leading  the  will  "admajorem  Dei  gloriani;" 


1808.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CH.AJILES  NERINCKX.  171 

people  in  a  more  salutary  manner  than  the  con- 
sideration of  the  goodness  of  God  and  of  His 
infinite  perfections,  he  naturally  strived  to  en- 
courage his  people,  apathetic  by  nature,  to  the 
practice  of  virtue,  by  the  fear  of  the  punish- 
ments reserved  to  those  who  neglect  the  service 
of  God. 

The  Dominicans,  on  the  other  hand,  had 
learned  great  forbearance  in  the  school  of  adver- 
sity, and  may  have  been  too  lenient  in  their 
eagerness  to  induce  even  the  most  neglectful  to 
comply  with  their  religious  duties.  Driven  out 
of  England  by  a  bitter  and  long  continued  op- 
position to  religious  orders,  they  were  first  com- 
pelled to  seek  relief  in  Belgium ;  and  they  had 
scarcely  established  their  college  at  Bornhem  on 
a  good  footing,  wdien  the  French  revolution 
threatened  to  involve  them  in  the  general  on- 
slaught on  religious  houses  which  had  proved  so 
disastrous  to  their  brethren  in  France.  Not 
knowing  what  to  do.  Father  Wilson,  then  Presi- 
dent of  the  College,  cultivated  the  friendship  of 
some  of  the  Republican  officials,  and  even  con- 
sented to  take  their  sons  as  students  of  the 
institution,  in  the  hope  of  saving  it.  By  dint  of 
concessions,  he  held  out  against  the  tide  of  op- 
pression,* until  1805,  when  his  conscience  told 
him  that  he  could  stretch  condescension  no  fur- 

his  was  pre-eminently  "  obsequium  rationabile."  Hence,  we  may 
say:    "  Deus  mirabilis  in  Sanctis  suis." 

*  Letter  of  Father  Nerinckx  to  Bishop  Carroll,  1808.  Balti- 
more, MSS. 


172  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.        [1806- 

>x  ther ;  and  he  had  to  wander  again,  until,  under 
the  leadership  of  Father  Fenwick,  he  and  his 
brethren  emigrated  to  America.  Here  they 
found  the  people  little  instructed,  and  grown 
callous,  because  of  long  continued  neglect ; 
■ .  and  they  naturally  felt  inclined  to  be  lenient,  to 
.!  the  delight  of  those  who  looked  upon  Fathers 
Badin's  and  Nerinckx'  teachings  as  too  se- 
vere. 

Drawn  by  the  novel  ceremonial  of  the  Domini- 
can Order,  and  its  picturesque  dress,  which,  as 
experience  teaches,  are  powerful  attractions  in 
the  eyes  of  people  unused  to  such  interesting  dis- 
plays, the  catholics  flocked  to  them  from  far 
'\^  and  wide.  Moreover,  Father  Fenwick,  by  birth 
Ni   ^  \  a  Marylander,  as  were  most  of  the   catholic  set- 

••  .  tiers  of  Kentucky,  naturally  thought  that  he  un- 
*V  derstood  better  than  the  missionary  priests  the 
wants  of  his  countrymen,  who  liked  the  Domini- 
cans all  the  better  from  the  fact  that  both  spoke 
fluently  the  English  language,  their  mother 
tono:ue.  The  Dominicans  were  thus  the  inno- 
X.  cent  cause  of  what  threatened  to  become  a 
serious  contention,  intensified,  it  may  have  been, 
by  the  fact  that  they  sought  more  the  success  of 
their  Order  and  the  evangelizing  of  the  people 
by  missionary  exercises,  than  parochial  work. 

On  the  6th  of  February,  1806,  Father  Nerinckx 
wrote  to  Bishop  Carroll,*  from  "  Holy  Mary's  at 


the  Rolling  Fork 


*  Baltimore  MSS. 


1808.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  173 

"  Two  Dominican  Fathers  *  have  already  ar- 
rived in  this  region,  and  have  begun  to  work  in 
the  interest  of  the  missions,  helping  the  poor 
people,  pressed,  nay,  giving  out  for  the  want  of 
spiritual  food.  But  it  appears  that  their  aid  will 
be  of  little  duration,  since  it  is  known,  owing  to 
their  repeated  assertions,  that  they  came  out, 
not  to  exercise  the  ministry  in  favor  of  the  mis- 
sions, but_ to  extend  their  Order.  They  say, 
However,  that  they  will  do  what  they  can  in  the 
neighborhood  of  their  monasteries ;  a  sure  sign 
that  the  property  of  the  missions  and  of  the 
newly  established  churches  will  have  to  be  given 
to  them,  and  that  there  will  be  very  little  hope 
of  having  the  spiritual  field  properly  cared  for. 
This  is  an  incongruity ;  all  the  greater  from  the 
fact  that  the  field  is  overrun  with  weeds  and 
thistles,  which,  owing  to  the  lack  of  laborers  to 
cut  them  in  time,  choke  the  good  seed." 

As  time  went  on,  the  missionaries  experienced 
more  and  more  difficulty  in  dealing  with  the  dis- 
satisfied portion  of  their  flock.  Many  negligent 
christians  took  a  malign  pleasure  in  going  to 
the  Dominicans  and  contributing  more  for  their 
buildings  than  even  the  richest  were  asked  to 
do  for  the  support  of  their  parish  priests. 
Father  Badin  went  to  consult  the  Bishop  of  Bal- 
timore about  the  matter,  and  Rev.  IN'erinckx 
wrote   at   the   same   time   the  following  letter, 

*  Father  Tuite  is  mentioned  as  one  of  the  two  in  a  subsequent 
letter  of  June  2,  1800.  He  probably  took  Father  Fenwick's 
place,  who  was  to  bring  the  fourth  one  from  Baltimore. 


\ 


174  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1806- 

datecl  June  2,  1806 :  *  ".  .  .  Father  Badin 
can  hardly  refuse  to  acknowledge,  by  this  time, 
that  he  experienced  the  truth  of  my  prognostic 
assertions  with  regard  to  the  Dominicans.  We 
and  they  differ  very  much  in  speculative 
theology,  but  in  many  things  entirely  so  in  prac- 
tice. I  dare  not  judge  for  myself  how  much  it 
is  exj^edient  to  say,  but  I  can  positively  assert 
one  thing,  viz  :  May  be  '  they  will  multiply  the 
nation,  but  they  will  neither  increase  the  joy 
nor  renew  the  face  of  the  earth.'  (Isaiah  ix.  3.) 
The  insolent  grow  more  so ;  and  those  who,  be- 
ing without  love  of  God,  were  a  little  coerced  by 
fear,  now  that  the  reins  are  loosened,  rush  head- 
long to  the  city  of  refuge,  which  they  boast  of 
having  found.  They  expect,'  moreover,  many 
extraordinary  privileges  from  the  two  other  Do- 
minicans whose  arrival  is  anxiously  looked  for ; 
they  confidently  imagine  and  publicly  assert 
that  these  will  bring  plenary  indulgences,  not 
only  for  absolution  of  the  pains  due  to  sin  after 
the  sin  is  forgiven,  but  for  preventing  them 
from  incurring  the  guilt  of  sin  at  all.  The  peo- 
ple call  these  reverend  gentlemen  easy ;  Rev. 
Badin  pronounces  them  extreme  laxists,  and  I 
(who,  although  severe,  look  upon  my  colleague 
as  altogether  too  rigid  and  stern,)  think  that  he 
is  not  mistaken  in  his  estimate  of  them.  How- 
ever, many  begin  to  grow  tired  of  these  honeyed 
means  of  salvation,  and,  appreciating  the  differ- 
ence  between   peace   and   peace  in  matters  of 

*  Bcaltimore  MSS. 


7 


3808.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  175 

■eternal  consequence  for  their  souls,  apply  to  us 
for  the  former  remedies,  howsoever  bitter  they 
may  be  said  to  be.     Matrimonial  matters  are  de- 
cided  according   to   the   desires  of  the  parties 
without   regard   for  the  sanctity  of  the    matri- 
monial   state ;    every  thing   is  allowed,  and  by 
and  by  every  thing  will  be  expedient.     ...        S 
If  these  and  similar  teachings  and  j^ractices  can 
be  adhered  to  against  the  exj^ress  law  of  God,      1 
the  repeated  counsels  of  the  Apostles,  and  the  /^  ,^ 
opinion  of  all  sound  theologians,  I  do  not  see 
w^hat  can  be  opposed  to  the  private  interpreta- 
tion of  the  Bible  by  heretics.     .     .     . 

"  I  hardly  believe  that  the  Dominicans  will 
succeed  in  building  a  monastery  here,  consider- 
ing that  they  are  not  willing  to  put  up  with 
humble  beginnings,  and  that  they  will  get  but 
little  pecuniary  assistance  from  the  people. 
But  if  the  Order  does  succeed,  I  think  it  neces- 
sary, and  it  is  my  most  ardent  wish,  that  a  man 
be  called  here  from  some  other  Dominican  mon- 
astery, who  will  instill  into  them  a  true  religious 
spirit.  That  man  should  be  a  true  lover  of 
reo'ular  observance  and  inflamed  with  zeal  for 
the   salvation   of   souls.*     For,    wdiat   is   to   be 

*  Father  Nerinckx  was  surely  actuated  by  the  best  of  motives 
in  writing  as  he  does.  He  did  not  find  fault  with  the  illustrious 
Order  of  St.  Dominic,  but  with  the  actions  of  a  very  few  of  its 
members.  That  he  formed  a  correct  idea  of  the  state  of  affairs 
at  St.  Rose's  may  be  gathered  from  the  following  extract  of  Arch- 
bishop Spalding's  Life  of  Bishop  Flaget,  Louisville,  1S52,  pg.  288: 
"  In  August,  1828,  the  Rev.  F.  Raphael  Munos  arrived  at  the  con- 
vent, as  prior.  He  had  been  commissioned  by  the  General  of 
the  Order  to  re-establish  therein,  in  its  full  vigor,  the  holy  rule 


176  LIFE  OF  KEV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1806- 

hoped  for  the  glory  of  our  holy  religion  from  an 
institution  whose  members  abhor  the  weight  and 
heat  of  the  day,  and  are  removed  so  far  away 
from  the  vigilant  eye  of  their  superiors,  who 
would  prove  their  censors  and  make  them  ad- 
here to  the  monastic  discipline  ?  Let  me  not  be 
understood  to  say  that  they  are  bad ;  far  from 
me  to  insinuate  any  thing  of  the  kind ;  yet  I  do 
say,  that,  in  my  humble  opinion,  they  have  too 
little  zeal  for  the  religious  observances  of  their 
Order.     .     .     . 

"  I  feel  all  the  more  free,  my  Lord,  in  writing 
to  you  as  I  have  done,  from  the  fact  that  I  fore- 
see that  the  Dominicans  will  be  professors  of  our 
Ecclesiastical  Seminary  in  Kentucky,  or  at  least 
will  constitute  a  majority  of  our  clergy,  if  Provi- 
dence does  not  interfere ;  and  I  might  be  sorry 
afterward,  but  too  late,  not  to  have  spoken  my 
mind  on  the  subject,  since  you  expect  me  to 
look  after  the  interests  of  Religion  in  this  re- 
gion.    .     .     ." 

Soon  after  the  arrival  of  the  Dominicans  at  St. 
Rose's,  Father  Nerinckx  had  given  up  to  them 
Springfield,  where  he  had  every  thing  prepared 
for  the  erection  of  a  church ;  also  St.  Ann's,  on 
Cartwright's  Creek.  It  was  especially  in  these 
places,  where  his  influence  was  no  longer  felt, 
that  his  enemies  exerted  themselves  in  the  most 

of  St.  Dominic;  which,  amidst  the  trying  circumstances  and  dis- 
tracting cares  of  the  missionary  life  the  earlier  Fathers  were 
compelled  to  lead,  had  suffered  some  relaxation.  The  Order  is 
now  in  a  highly  prosperous  condition." 


1808.]         LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  177 

shameless  manner  to  destroy  whatever  good  he 
had  eifected,  and  to  cause  his  name  to  be  odious  to 
the  people ;  the  Dominicans  holding  themselves 
aloof,  or  being  perhaps  unable  to  counteract  the 
evil  influences  of  these  rebels.  The  picture  the 
holy  man  draws  of  the  state  of  affairs  on  Cart- 
wright's  Creek,  two  years  after  he  had  left  it, 
made  his  heart  bleed :  "  This  congregation,"  he 
writes  to  Bishop  Carroll,*  June  30,  1808,  "  was 
the  best  of  all  my  missions.  They  abhorred  public 
conventicles,  especially  nocturnal  ones,  dances, 
marriages  with  heretics  and  relations,  worldly 
fashions  and  ornaments.  The  children  and  youths 
applied  themselves  earnestly,  to  acquire  the 
knowledsre  of  the  christian  doctrine  and  to  the 
practice  of  virtue,  stimulated  as  they  were  by 
public  examinations  and  rewards.  Married  peo- 
23le  abstained  scrupulously,  and  for  virtue's  sake, 
from  all  license  injurious  to  their  state;  and  on 
Sundays,  by  far  the  greater  number  attended 
piously  and  religiously,  from  early  morning  till 
the  end  of  the  services,  at  the  church  ceremonies. 
But  now,  from  what  I  hear,  all  that  has  passed 
away  like  a  shadow ;  marriages  with  heretics 
are  but  too  easily  contracted ;  dances  are  allowed 
in  daytime  and  are  no  sin  ;  and  so  on  (for  I  like  to 
be  brief,  having  written  to  your  Lordship  about 
these  things  before  this).  .  .  .  Yet,  tumult 
and  trouble  always  arise  at  weddings  and  dances 
in  Scott  county,  St.  Ann's,  and  Simpson's  Creek, 
from  that  more  comical  than  evangelical  prac- 

*  Baltimore  MSS. 


178  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1806- 

tice  of  electrifying  the  feet  of  the  guests  by  the 
sounds  of  the  fiddle.  ...  If  I  even  conceded, 
and  I  never  dreamed  of  conceding  it,  that  there 
is  no  evil  in  all  that,  still  I  could  never  see  why 
the  Dominicans  did  not  uphold  what  was  gener- 
ally complied  with  without  murmur.  Surely  the 
church  can  not  be  comj)limented  on  the  intro- 
duction of  all  these  new  disorders." 

Nor  did  the  discontented  stop  at  that.     Put 

up  to  it  by  "  B E ,  a  man  who  has  done  a 

great  deal  of  harm  in  these  parts,  and  who  is 
held  in  supreme  contempt  by  all  good  people, 
and  by  the  more  honest  protestants,"  *  they  sent 
to  Bishop  Carroll  a  long  list  of  accusations 
against  their  former  pastor. 

Aware  of  their  underhand  workings.  Father 
JSTerinckx  sent,  in  the  beginning  of  1807,  a  letter 
to  Bishop  Carroll,  the  substance  of  which  he 
gives  in  a  subsequent  communication, f  as  follows : 
^'  In  it  I  mention  how  I  distributed  the  sacred  vest- 
ments, bought  for  the  greater  part  with  my  own 
money  and  that  of  my  relations.  I  also  write 
some  two  or  three  pages  about  m^^self,  not  that 
I  act  the  apologist — for,  thank  God,  I  never  yet 
wanted  to  sound  my  own  praises,  nor  ever  will, 
unless  the  glory  of  God  and  the  good  of  my 
neighbor  demand  it.  But  I  explain  the  practice 
I   have  followed   in   the  ministry,  for  the  last 

*  Letter  to  Bishop  Carroll,  1808.    Baltimore  MSS. 

fThe  letter  of  1807  is  not  to  be  found  in  the  archiepiscopal 
archives.  The  substance  of  it,  as  here  given,  is  taken  from  the 
one  of  1808.     Baltimore  MSS. 


1808.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  179 

twenty  years,  under  the  eyes  of  so  many  venerable 
men,  may  be  martyrs,  but  without  doubt  intrepid 
confessors  of  the  orthodox  faith,  and  with  the 
consent  of  his  Eminence,  John  Henry,  Cardinal 
de  Frankenberg,  whose  letters  of  approval  of 
my  conduct  and  teachings  I  religiously  keep. 
JN'ot  that  I  want  to  peddle  around  my  own 
praises,  for  nothing  but  confusion  is  due  and  left 
me  in  time  and  for  eternity ;  but  that  I  may  al- 
ways have  a  fixed  rule  of  action  which  I  may 
safely  follow.  Finally,  having  maturely  reflected 
on  the  actual  state  of  religion  in  Kentucky,  and 
compared  my  present  position  with  the  one  I 
foresee,  from  the  actual  unpleasant  state  of  af- 
fairs, will  undoubtedly  be  mine  in  the  future,  I 
closed  my  letter  by  handing  in  my  resignation, 
with  many  thanks  to  your  Lordship  for  the  re- 
peated favors  conferred  on  your  humble  servant. 
I  only  added  the  request  to  be  allowed,  for  the 
time  I  remain  here,  to  say  Mass  in  my  private 
dwelling." 

The  reason  for  that  important  step  was,  that 
in  his  opinion  the  Dominicans  were  altogether 
too  lenient  with  the  people,  and  that  their  diver- 
sity of  opinions,  and  especially  of  practice,  could 
not  but  be  a  source  of  scandal  to  the  faithful  and 
of  mutual  annoyance  to  themselves.  Father 
Nerinckx,  therefore,  concluded  to  leave  the  field 
to  the  Fathers,  and  so  take  away  all  cause  of 
contention. 

He  soon  after  ascertained  the  nature  of  the 
accusations   against    him,    and   that   they  were 


180 


LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX. 


[1806. 


i 


f 


Y 


>v^ 


nI 


signed  by  only  a  few,  and  noticed  them  in  a 
letter  to  his  Ordinary  of  Baltimore,  dated  June 
30,  1808,*  in  the  following  strain  : 

"  The  j)rincipal  heads  of  accusation  against 
me,  in  as  far  as  I  can  ascertain  them  from 
sayings,  writings,  and  the  testimony  of  my  own 
conscience,  are  as  follows :  1.  I  advise  early 
rising  at  four  a.  m.  Rev.  Father  Fenwick  is  my 
accuser  on  this  head,  and  that  is  the  hour  that 
he  himself  as  a  religious  ought  to  keep ;  but  he 
errs  when  he  says  that  I  refuse  absolution  to 
those  that  sleep  longer.  ...  2.  I  promiscu- 
ously forbid  dances  as  bad,  3.  I  prohibit  pro- 
miscuous visits  between  persons  of  different  sex. 
4.  I  forbid  and  am  aa-ainst  marriao'es  with  here- 
tics,  etc.  5.  Before  marriage,  I  require  prepa- 
ration for  it,  proclamation  of  the  bans  and  the 
reception  of  the  Sacraments.  6.  I  prescribe 
rules  to  be  kept  by  those  that  are  married.  7. 
On  Sundays  and  Holy  days  I  order  public  pray- 
ers, kept  up  the  whole  morning,  with  intervals 
of  rest,  however.  _  8.  I  make  continual  exactions 
for  the  church  treasury — fortunately  they  do  not 
say  that  I  make  them  for  myself.  9.  I  forbid 
excess  in  clothing  and  unseemly  ornamentation. 
I  would  add  that  I  have  female  censors  of  ma- 
ture age  to  see  to  it  that  this  rule  be  observed 
in  church.  10.  I  am  too  bitter  in  giving  correc- 
tions. B E calls  me  a  tyrant.  11.  Fi- 
nally, they  say  I  impose  too  much  restraint  on 
the  people. 

*  Baltimore  MSS. 


1808.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  181 

"  If  all  that  be  true,  I  wonder  why,  wherever 
I  go,  so  many  crowd  every  day  around  my  con- 
fessional, and  besiege  my  ears  from  morning  till 
nio-ht?  .  .  .  I  do  not  know  whether  there 
are  any  other  accusations  against  me.  When  I 
read  of  similar  practices  in  the  life  of  St.  Charles 
and  other  Saints,  I" fancy  these  things  are  men- 
tioned to  commend  them  ;  and  I  do  not  know  what 
judgment  shall  be  passed  upon  a  confessor  who 
would  attempt  to  induce  or  oblige  his  penitents 
to  do  the  very  reverse  of  these  practices,  viz: 
that  no  preparation  is  required  before  marriage ; 
that  no  rules  are  to  be  followed  in  married  life, 
etc. 

"  Moreover,  if  my  crimes  be  true,  why  am  I 
not  cited  canonically,  etc.  Why  am  I  con- 
demned among  the  people  before  I  am  convicted 
in  court. 

"  Tali  dedicator e  damnationis  nostras  gloriamur. 
(Tertul.  ad  Neronem.)  I  forgive,  from  my  heart, 
the  man  who  is  the  instigator  of  all  this,  for  all 
the  injuries  which  he  publicly  loaded  me  with, 
without  any  provocation  on  my  part  (his  letters 
are  publicly  given  to  read  *) ;  for  I  admit  in 
him  stupid  and  invincible  ignorance.  I  only  de- 
sire him  to  remember,  in  the  bitterness  of  his 
soul,  if  it  is  not  yet  callous,  what  troubles  he  has 
caused  in  the  house  of  God,  the  results  of  which 
he  is  accountable  for,  and  to  think  seriously  of 
reparation.     With  mind  unbiased,  I  judge  that 

*  He  was  in  Baltimore  at  the  time,  and  had  had  an  interview 
with  the  Bishop. 


182  LIFE  OF  KEV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1806- 

man  to  be  unworthy  of  receiving  the  Sacraments, 

as  long  as  it  is  not  universally  known  that  he  has 

"^jv^^repaired  the  scandal  given.    That  impostor  loudly 

\^ -^  "      boasts  that  he  has  ample  permission  and  indorse- 

■^,K  '    ment  from  your  Lordship  for  all  he  says.     I  do 

^~  not   doubt    but    these    assertions    are   without 

foundation  in  fact,  and  he   misrepresents   you ; 

but,  to  be  sincere,  I  am  afraid  that  the  letters 

which  these  few  hypocrites  and   rebel  families 

carry  around   as  yours  (I  have  not  seen  any), 

s      add  a  great  weight  to  their  calumnies.     If  these 

betters  are  genuine  and  contain  what  these  men 

claim  they  do,  I  shall  greatly  deplore  it,  because 

I  do  not  see  how  matters  can  be  mended,  unless 

the  last  chapter  of  the  Book  of  Esther  would 

suggest  a  way  of  doing  it.     .     .     . 

"  Many  of  our  people  deplore  this  calamity, 
and  come  in  crowds,  offering  to  sign  a  protest 
against  my  calumniators.  This  they  have  al- 
ready done  without  my  knowledge,  and  I  intend, 
next  Sunday,  to  forbid  them  strictly  to  take  up 
my  defense,  because  I  am  conscious  I  have 
wronged  no  one.  I  therefore  commend  every 
thing  to  God,  who  will  do  what  is  pleasing  in 
His  sight.  In  the  meantime  I  rejoice  that  I 
i  came  not  here  animated  by  earthly  hopes  ;  I  re- 

j  joice  that  I  have  not  only  received  no  temporal 

i  advantages  here,  but  have   spent   every  thing 

j  that    Divine     Providence    gave    me,    for    the 

greater  glory  of  God.     (Such,  at  least,  is   my 
hope.)     .     .     . 

"  This  is  what  I  desired  to  add  to  my  previous 


1S()S.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  183 

letter,  Right  Rev.  Sir.  Commending  myself 
again  and  again  to  your  benevolent  prayers,  and 
with  the  wish  of  receiving,  as  soon  as  possible, 
my  demissorial  letters  in  the  form  of  testimo- 
nials, I  remain, 

"  Right  Rev.  Sir, 

"  Your  Lordship's  most  humble 

and  obedient  servant,. 
"Charles  Nerinckx." 

Bishop  Carroll  answered  to  this  letter  on  the 
9th  of  August,  with  his  usual  prudence  and  wis- 
dom, advising  the  zealous  priest  to  bear  patiently 
the  troubles  of  his  position,  and  to  remember  that 
diversity  of  opinions  can  be  consistently  held 
without  harm  to  religion  or  loss  of  souls.  He 
concluded  by  stating  that  he  saw  no  reason  why 
he  should  leave  his  missionary  station. 

Father  Nerinckx  was  too  humble  a  man  not  to 
defer  to  the  advice  of  his  Bishop,  and  did  so 
fully  and  without  reserve.  After  having  given 
his  reasons  for  being  afraid  that  the  diversity 
of  action  between  himself  and  the  Dominicans 
would  produce  harm  to  Religion,  he  continues  :  * 
"  Your  Lordship  judges  that  I  should  not  leave- 
the  ministry  of  Kentucky.  God  himself  forbids, 
in  the  book  of  Tobias,  '  to  do  any  thing  without 
counsel ; '  and,  in  another  place,  it  is  said  that 
*  the  will  of  God  is  announced  to  us  by  the  Bishops 
of  His  church.'     It  is  now  three  years  since  I 

*  Letter  to   Bishop   Carroll,  September  24,  1808.     Baltimore 

MSS. 


184  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.      [1806-8. 

promised  almost  blind  obedience  to  your  Lord- 
ship ;  howsoever  great,  therefore,  be  the  danger 
of  my  being  lost,  it  seems  to  be  God's  will  that 
I  should  wait  a  while  before  totally  abandoning 
the  ministry.  I  will,  therefore,  until  the  Lord 
disposes  otherwise,  continue  to  guide  souls,  a 
blind  man  leading  the  blind,  in  fear  and  trem- 
bling, trusting  that  your  Lordship  will  pray  that 
both  fall  not  into  the  pit." 


CHAPTER  XI. 

1808-1809. 

Father  Nebinckx  appointed  administrator  and  bishop  of  New 
Orleans. — He  declines  the  appointment. — He  offers  himself 
for  the  Louisiana  mission. — New  trouble  in  Kentucky. — The 
New  Orleans  difficulties. — The  vicar-general  opposes  Father 
Nerinckx'  departure. 

It  has  been  truthfully  said  that  "the  style  is 
the  man;"  and  this  is  especially  true  of  a  man 
who  labors  under  difficulties  and  anguish  of 
mind.  Father  Nerinckx'  letters  had  given 
Bishop  Carroll  a  thorough  insight  into  the  char- 
acter of  the  man,  and  they  heightened  the  es- 
teem he  had  previously  conceived  for  that  mar- 
tyr to  duty. 

Burdened  with  the  administration  of  the 
American  Church,  that  prelate  had,  after  the  pur- 
€hase  of  Louisiana  by  the  United  States,  also 
been  canonically  appointed  administrator  of  the 
diocese  of  New  Orleans;  and  when  he  pe- 
titioned the  Holy  See  for  the  erection  of  the  four 
new  bishoprics  of  New  York,  Boston,  Philadel- 
phia, and  Bardstown,  he  also  resolved  to  confide 
the  government  of  that  distant  church  to 
another. 

(185) 


186  I^lFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1808- 

Upon  the  resignation  of  Bishop  Penalver  y 
Cardenas,  the  administration  of  the  diocese  of 
New  Orleans  had  devolved  upon  the  onl}^  sur- 
viving canon,  the  Rev.  Thomas  Hassett,  who 
assumed  jurisdiction  under  the  most  tr3ang  cir- 
cumstances.    Anthony   was    foremost    in 

throwing  difficulties  in  his  way,  and  things 
came  to  such  a  pass,  that,  at  the  death  of  the  ad- 
ministrator in  1804,  a  schism  was  imminent.  On 
assuming  jurisdiction  in  1805,  Bishop  Carroll 
appointed  Rev.  Olivier,  the  then  chaplain  of  the 
Ursuline  convent  in  New  Orleans,  his  Vicar- 
general  with  extraordinary  powers  ;  but  this  did 
not  mend  matters,  and  it  was  only  in  1808  that 
the  worthy  priest  partially  succeeded  in  bring- 
ing order  out  of  this  chaos  of  confusion. 

Alarmed  at  the  deplorable  condition  of  the 
Louisiana  diocese.  Bishop  Carroll  thought  that 
a  man  of  Father  Nerinckx'  cast  would  be  the 
one  most  likely  to  subdue  the  spirit  of  revolt, 
rife  in  New  Orleans.  He  recommended  him 
to  Rome  as  a  suitable  person  to  take  charge  of 
the  vacant  diocese  in  the  character  of  Adminis- 
trator, signifying,  at  the  same  time,  his  desire 
of  having  him  consecrated  Titular  Bishop, 
as  soon  as  difficulties  would  be  settled.  The 
sovereign  Pontiff  acceded  to  the  request  of  the 
Bishop,  leaving  it  to  his  prudence  and  good 
judgment  to  determine  the  proper  time  for  con- 
secrating the  reverend  gentleman  Bishop  of 
that  important  See.  The  bulls  of  the  four  new 
Bishops  arrived  early  in   September,  1808,  and 


1809]         LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  187 

with  them  a  brief  appointing  Father  Nerinckx 
administrator  of  Louisiana;  Right  Rev.  John 
Carroll  to  be  Archbishop  of  the  new  American 
province. 

The  Archbishop  hastened  to  communicate  this 
news  to  Father  Nerinckx,  who,  unconscious  of 
the  high  honor  that  awaited  him,  had  resumed 
his  arduous  missionary  duties  with  his  accus- 
tomed zeal.  The  letters  reached  him  on  the 
30th  of  October  of  the  same  year,  and  to  say 
that  he  was  thunderstruck  is  almost  putting  it 
mildly.  "The  good  missionary  was  with  Mr. 
Badin  when  he  learned  the  news  of  his  appoint- 
ment. He  meekly  bowed  his  head,  and  observed 
to  his  friend,  beginning  with  the  words  of  the 
Psalmist :  Bonitatem  et  discijdinajn  et  scientlam 
docendus  docere  non  valeo — '  having  myself  to  be 
taught  goodness  and  discipline  and  knowledge,  I 
am  unable  to  teach  these  things  to  others.'  He 
mildly  but  firmly  refused  the  proffered  honor,"  * 
in  the  following  letter,  dated  : 

"  October  31,  1808. 
^^ Right  Rev.  and  respected  Sir: 

"  Your  letters  of  September  30th  were  handed 
to  me  rather  late  last  night.  Truly,  I  have  re- 
joiced with  exceeding  great  joy,  hearing  that 
the  Father  of  mercies  had  finally  designated  the 
one  whom  we  expected  so  impatiently,  looked 
down  upon  his  people,  and  blessed  his  inherit- 
ance, that  He  might  rule  it  and  exalt  it  for  all 

*  "  Sketches  of  Kentucky,"  pg.  200. 


188  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1808- 

eternity !  Blessed  be  His  Holy  Name  here  and 
world  without  end!  I  exultantly  congratulate 
your  Grace  that  it  has  pleased  God  to  place  you 
at  the  head  of  all  the  churches  of  the  United 
States  of  America ;  so  that,  where  you  rose  as 
the  aurora  of  an  incipient  church,  you  may 
shine  like  the  noonday  sun,  emitting  rays  which 
will  glorify  and  vivify  the  other  churches  of  our 
Union.  May  the  good  and  ever-merciful  God 
add  many  years  unto  the  vigorous  old  age  of 
your  Lordship,  for  His  greater  glory  and  the 
good  of  His  church,  even  at  the  expense  of  mine, 
if  I  have  more  years  to  live. 

"  It  can  not  but  be  a  cause  of  great  and  sin- 
cere joy  to  my  reverend  and  cherished  host, 
that  he  has  not  been  called  to  the  very  hard  and 
tremendous  position  of  the  Episcopacy ;  we  how- 
ever thought  that  he  would  have  creditably  car- 
ried the  burden;  but  God's  judgments  are  not 
the  judgments  of  men.  This  church  has  reason 
indeed  to  be  exceedingly  glad  to  hold  its  worthy 
Pastor  [the  Right  Rev.  B.  J.  Flaget],  a  Prelate, 
the  best  qualified  for  the  responsible  duties  of 
that  great  office.  I  understand  that  the  three 
others  are  also  evidently  sent  by  God  ;  men,  ac- 
cording to  the  heart  of  the  Prince  of  Pastors ; 
infinite  thanks  to  the  Lord ! 

"  So  far,  the  letters  of  your  Lordship  forced 
tears  of  joy  from  every  pious  eye.  But  in  the 
midst  of  my  exultation  and  jubilant  happiness, 
behold,  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  sadness  has 
taken  its  place,  and  my  bitterness  has  truly  be- 


1809.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  189 

come  very  intense.  When  reading  in  the  next 
line,  among  the  elect,  my  name,  which  should 
rather  be  condemned  to  eternal  oblivion,  I  could 
not  but  emit  deep  groans  and  bitter  sighs  of 
grief,  convinced,  as  I  am  that,  in  the  judgment 
of  an  angry  and  justly  irritated  God,  I  should 
be  buried  away  from  view.  Afflicted  indeed, 
humbled  and  agitated,  I  thought  over  the  matter 
for  along  time,  till  finally,  becoming  more  quiet, 
I  commenced  to  examine  the  subject  without 
commotion,  thoroughly,  and  with  the  greatest 
care  before  God.  Having  first  implored,  as 
usual,  the  help  of  God  in  prayer,  I^consulted 
the  glory  of  God  primarily,  then  the  salvation 
of  my  neighbor  and  my  own  salvation,  as  the 
only  objects  worthy  of  my  consideration.  After 
much  and  serious  reflection,  I  am  forced  to  the 
conclusion  that  it  is  simply  and  in  every  way  im- 
possible for  me  to  accept  the  episcopal  honor 
and  burden ;  hence  I  refuse  the  proifered  eleva- 
tion, as  being  totally  unfit  for  it. 

"  However,  as  of  old,  I  am  ready,  if  my  su- 
periors deem  proper,  to  go  and  work  in  that 
vineyard  under  an  administrator  to  be  appointed 
there ;  for  the  news  that  reached  us  about  the 
state  of  religion  in  that  region  is  truly  sad,  and 
imperiously  demands  whatever  help  can  be  got. 
In  case  I  should  go  there  to  work,  I  would  de- 
sire  my  countrymen   who   might  come  to  join 

me. 

"  C.  Nerinckx."  * 

*  Baltimore  MSS. 


190  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1808- 

The  Rev.  Benedict  Joseph  Flaget  had  also  re- 
fused the  mitre,  and,  upon  Archbishop  Carroll 
telling  him  he  must  accept,  had  referred  the 
whole  matter  to  his  ecclesiastical  superior,  Mr. 
Emery,  in  Paris.  This  step  delayed  the  conse- 
cration of  the  Bishop  of  Bardstown  for  over  two 
years.  Archbishop  Carroll,  not  yet  aware  of 
Father  Nerinckx'  refusal  of  the  dignity  con- 
ferred on  him,  communicated  the  unwelcome  in- 
telligence to  the  missionary  by  letter,  dated  Oc- 
tober 23,  1808,  insisting,  at  the  same  time,  uj^on 
his  acceptance  of  the  office,  and  inclosing  a  let- 
ter from  Bishop  Concanen,  consecrated  in  Rome 
for  New  York. 

Father  Nerinckx  again  refused ;  but,  alarmed 
at  the  good  opinion  the  Archbishop  had  con- 
ceived of  his  abilities,  and  afraid  lest,  as  in  the 
case  of  Bishop  Flaget,  the  Metropolitan  would 
tell  him  he  must  accept,  he  resolved  to  forestall 
his  kind  intentions,  and  called  upon  his  brother 
priests  to  assist  him  in  ridding  himself  of  the 
burden  of  the  episcopacy.  "Desirous  of  retain- 
ing him  in  Kentucky,  where  his  labors  were  so 
fruitful,  Mr.  Badin,  in  conjunction  with  the  Do- 
minican Fathers  of  St.  Rose,  petitioned  the  Holy 
See  that  he  might  not  be  compelled  to  accept  an 
office  which  would  tear  him  from  a  field  of  labor 
in  which  he  had  already  proved  so  eminently 
useful.  They  also  represented  that  the  great 
delicacy  of  conscience  characteristic  of  Mr.  JN'er- 
iiickx,  would  render  him  exceedingly  unhappy 
in  so  arduous  a  situation,  if  it  would  not  wholly 


1809.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  191 

unfit  him  for  its  responsible  duties."*  However, 
the  humble  priest  did  not  dread  the  work ;  he 
was  willing  to  take  a  share  of  the  burden  on  his 
shoulders,  provided  the  honor  rested  on  a  more 
willing  head;  and  on  the  3d  of  December  he 
wrote  to  the  Archbishop  the  following  letter : 

"  Feast  of  St.  Francis  Xavier,  1808. 
'•''Kujlit  Bev.  and  Illustrious  Bishoj): 

"  On  the  first  day  of  this  month,  I  received 
the  honored  letters  of  your  Grace,  dated  October 
23d,  from  which  it  appears  that  my  recent  letter 
had  not  reached  you  at  the  time  of  your  writing. 
Truly,  I  have  every  reason  to  rejoice  in  the 
Lord  from  the  bottom  of  my  heart,  for  the  con- 
soling statement  contained  in  them,  viz:  that 
the  Holy  Father  is  so  well  pleased  with  the  im- 
proving condition  of  ecclesiastical  affairs  in 
these  States.  Any  one  who  takes  ever  so  little 
interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  .church,  must  be 
moved  to  tears  of  joy.  To  be  sincere,  however, 
I  must  confess  that  these  good  tidings  are 
mixed  with  some  sad  ones :  We  deeply  regret 
the  danger  we  are  in  of  not  obtaining  our  Bishop 
elect,  that  man  approved  by  the  universal  suf- 
frage of  his  brethren,  dear  to  God,  just,  kind,  and 
pious.  In  the  meantime  we  will  not  doubt  that 
this,  the  amiable  will  of  God,  will  be  vigorously 
and  sweetly  brought  to  execution  by  the  bowels 
of  mercy  of  our  Lord. 

"  But  there  is  another  reason  why  my  soul  ire- 

*  •'  Sketches  of  Kentucky,"  pg.  200. 


192  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1808- 

fuses  to  be  comforted :  I  have  looked  into  this 
matter  of  my  appointment,  considered  it  again 
and  again  ;  and,  truly,  in  whatever  light  I  look 
upon  it,  whithersoever  I  turn  for  counsel  either 
of  my  own  heart  or  around  me,  one  and  all 
loudly  proclaim  that  it  is  entirely  impossible 
that  such  be  the  will  of  God  toward  me,  unless 
He  wanted  to  punish  and  chastise  in  his  wrath 
this  poor  people  as  well  as  me.  Ah !  would  to 
God  that  these  good  men,  who  had  some  share 
in  bringing  about  my  nomination,  knew  me  as  I 
am !  If  I  were  foolish  and  insolent  enough  to 
accept  the  dignity,  they  would,  indeed,  have 
reason  enough  to  lament  my  own  inevitable  ruin, 
and  the  irreparable  loss  of  those  who  would  be 
committed  to  my  care.  But  my  fears  are  al- 
layed, seeing  by  the  letter  of  Bishop  Concanen, 
that  the  whole  thing  is  left  to  the  discretion  of 
your  Lordship,  who  is  well  aware  by  this  time 
of  my  total  inability  ;  so  that  there  is  little  room 
left  for  the  least  suspicion  of  my  promotion.  In 
order,  however,  that  I  may  not  seem  to  '  count 
my  life  more  precious  than  myself,'  and  to 
shirk  tribulations  and  labors,  I  shall  most  will- 
ingly accompany  the  one  who  is  to  preside  over 
that  flock,  if  I  can  in  any  way  be  of  use  to  him  ; 
if  my  superiors  approve  of  it,  I  am  ready  to 
spend  my  strength  in  some  part  of  that  land,  to 
all  accounts,  really  '  made  desolate  with  desola- 
tion,' to  the  best  of  my  ability.  I  therefore  beg 
and  entreat  of  your  Lordship,  to  whom  I  have 
intrusted  my  all  from  the  moment  of  my  arrival 


1809.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  193 

here,  as  to  a  father,  to  settle  this  matter  in  your 
pious  sagacity,  for  the  greater  glory  of  God  and 
the  salvation  of  my  own  soul.     .     .     . 

"  Commending  myself  again  and  again  to  the 
prayers  and  sacrifices  of  your  fatherly  solicitude, 
I  remain, 

"  Of  your  Lordship, 
"  The  most  humble  and  obedient  servant, 

"  C.  K'erinckx."* 

That  this  letter  had  not  its  desired  effect  ap- 
pears from  the  following  letter  of  Archbishop 
Carroll,  written  to  a  friend  of  Father  Nerinckx, 
in  Louvain — Mr.  Peemans — the  French  original 
text  of  which  I  found  in  the  Bollandist  Library 
of  the  Jesuit  Fathers,  in  Brussels : 

"  Baltimore,  Fehruary  2,  1809. 
^^  Lear  Sir : 

"  I  had  the  pleasure  of  receiving,  three  days 
ago,  your  long  expected  letter,  dated  June  3d,  of 
last  year,  containing  another,  too  short  to  satisfy 
my  curiosity,  addressed  to  Messrs.  Beschter  and 
Wouters;  the  latter  note  not  being  sealed,  I 
have  thought  that  I  rightly  interpreted  your  in- 
tention by  reading  it,  and  forwarding  it  to  your 
friends,  who,  as  well  as  Mr.  Nerinckx,  Henry 
and  Malave,  are  constantly  busy  in  the  vine- 
yard of  the  Lord  and  render  the  most  important 
services  for  the  salvation  of  souls.     I  notice  that 

*  Baltimore  MSS. 


194  LLFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1808- 

yovL  had  grave  apprehensions  with  regard  to  Mr. 
Nerinckx,  caused  by  a  letter  of  Mr,  Badin ; 
but  it  is  with  the  sweetest  pleasure  I  am  enabled 
to  say  that  his  sickness  has  not  been  a  long  one, 
and  that  he  has  entirely  recovered ;  you  will 
likely  have  the  j^roof  of  it  at  his  own  hands  by 
the  same  vessel  which  carries  this  letter.  That 
vessel  had  to  leave  a  month  ago,  and  I  sent  to 
^ew   York   a  heavy  package  of  his  letters  for 

Brabant,  addressed  to  N^ ,  and,  indeed,  you 

were  not  forgotten.  In  the  midst  of  his  joy  at 
the  erection  of  an  Episcopal  See  in  Kentucky, 
and  at  the  nomination  of  Mr.  Flaget  to  fill  it  (a 
man  who,  under  the  present  circumstances, 
seems  destined  by  Providence  to  unite  all  differ- 
ences of  opinion  in  the  diocese  confided  to  his 
pastoral  solicitude),  Mr.  Nerinckx  is  grieved  at 
his  own  nomination  to  the  Aj)ostolic  Prefecture 
of  the  diocese  of  Louisiana,  and  says  he  will  ab- 
scond in  a  Trappist  cell  rather  than  to  accept  the 
dignity.  But  nothing  is  as  yet  decided  or  will 
be  until  the  very  uncertain  arrival  of  Mgr.  Con- 
canen.  Bishop  of  New  York,  who  is  to  be  the 
bearer  of  all  the  Briefs,  etc.,  relative  to  the 
■changes  which  the  government  of  this  western 
portion  of  the  church  is  to  undergo.  .  .  . 
Mr.  Nerinckx,  of  your  diocese  of  Mechlin,  a 
most  zealous  missionary,  is  nominated  Vicar 
Apostolic  of  Louisiana.     .     .     . 

"f  John,  Bishop  of  Baltimore." 


1809.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  195 

As   late  as  September,  the  Bishop  of  Balti- 
more writes  to  the  same  Mr.  Peemans : 


"Baltimore,  Seiotemher  5,  1809. 
^^ Bear  Sir: 

"  I  received  with  j^leasure  and  gratitude,  on 
the  7th  of  August,  your  letter  of  June  8th.  .  .  . 
Mgr.  riaget.  Bishop  elect  of  Bardstown,  in 
Kentucky,  who  returns  to  France  to  obtain  some 
priests  of  St.  Sulpice  to  accompany  him  to  his 
diocese,  seems  determined  to  decline  his  nomina- 
tion unless  he  succeeds  in  that  mission.  If  Ken- 
tucky loses  him,  it  will  be  a  subject  of  eternal 
regret.  Distinguished  by  all  the  virtues  neces- 
sary to  an  ecclesiastic,  he  is  especially  so  by  his 
sweetness  of  temper,  and  his  spirit  of  conciliation, 
which  is  just  now  absolutely  necessary  to  the  one 
who  will  be  at  the  head  of  that  diocese.     .     . 

"  Mr.  Nerinckx  still  manifests  the  same  aver- 
sion to  his  nomination  as  administrator  of  the 
diocese  of  Louisiana.  I  have  just  now  renewed 
my  entreaties  and  expostulations  with  him  on 
that  head,  and  God  alone  knows  if  he  will  persist 
in  his  refusal  after  the  reception  of  the  Bulls, 
which  are  still  looked  for  in  vain,  the  Bishop  of 
New  York  not  having  yet  arrived.  The  Trap- 
pists  have  left  Kentucky  for  Louisiana,  and  Mr. 
Nerinckx,  who  is  unwilling  to  shoulder  the  gov- 
ernment of  that  diocese,  desires,  however,  to  ac- 
company them  thither  in  order  to  be  near  them 
and  to  work  for  the  salvation  of  souls. 

"f  John,  Bishop  of  Baltimore.", 


196  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         flSOS- 

When  the  news  of  Father  Nerinckx'  nomina- 
tion reached  his  old  parishioners  of  Everberg- 
Meerbeke,  in  Brabant,  the  ladies  of  the  parish 
immediately  set  about  preparing  and  making  up 
a  complete  suit  of  episcopal  vestments,  which 
they  had  almost  ready  to  send  to  him,  when 
they  received  the  intelligence  that  he  had  firmly 
refused  the  proifered  dignity.* 

Determined  to  leave  no  stone  unturned  in  or- 
der to  escape  the  position  which,  in  his  hu- 
mility, he  thought  so  much  above  his  capacity, 
Father  Nerinckx  resolved  to  call  to  his  aid  the 
influence  of  the  Right  Rev.  Leonard  Neale, 
Bishop  of  Gortyna  and  Coadjutor  of  Baltimore, 
who,  having  known  him  at  Georgetown,  would, 
he  felt  assured,  plead  his  cause  with  the  Arch- 
bishop more  successfully  than  he  could  himself. 
In  a  letter  of  January  16,  1809,  to  that  prelate, 
he  humbly  but  persistently  represented  the  im- 
possibility of  his  consenting  to  so  "  sad  an  elec- 
tion, foreboding  nothing  but  evil  to  the  church, 
brought  about  by  to  him  unknown,  and  likely 
well  meant  influences  ;  but  so  glaring  an  incon- 
gruity that  he  knew  it  would  be  enough  to  bring 
the  matter  to  the  notice  of  his  Lordship,  who 
had  learned  by  personal  experience  how  unfit  a 
subject  he  was  for  that  position,  to  have  his 
name  struck  from  the  list  of  appointments. "f 
He  also  remarked  that  after  the  advent  of  the 
new  Bishop,  there  would  be  abundance  of  priests 

*See  "Sketches  of  Kentucky,"  pg.  200. 
t  Baltimore  MSS. 


1809.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  197 

in  Kentucky,  and  ended  by  requesting  the  Co- 
adjutor's help  in  securing  an  ap23ointment  in 
Upper  Louisiana,  where  priests  were  few. 

But  how  horrified  was  the  poor  missionary, 
when,  upon  receiving  a  reply,  he  found  out  that 
Bishop  Neale  understood  him  as  requesting  to 
be  ap23ointed  to  a  new  bishopric  in  Louisiana ! 
j^ever  was  man  in  a  greater  hurry  to  answer  a 
letter : 

"At  the  Priests'  La?^d,  near  Bardstown,  \ 
"Washington  Co.,  Ky.,  /w/t/  26,  1809.      j 
^''  Right  Bev.  Sir : 

"  .  .  .  I  must  have  made  an  egregious 
mistake,  since  your  Lordship  writes  as  if  I  had 
asked  to  be  sent  to  that  part  of  Louisiana  for 
which  Rome  intends  to  provide.  May  the  Lord 
God  avert  such  a  misfortune  from  me,  and  leave 
me  sense  and  honor  enough  never  to  presume 
to  accept  such  a  dignity  !  It  is  true  that  a  con- 
ditional arrangement  of  that  kind  has  been  sent 
from  Rome,  and  how  such  a  thing  could  ever  be 
thought  of,  I  am  at  a  loss  to  account  for.  But 
that  should  not  have  troubled  me  much,  since  I 
was  fully  convinced  that  your  Lordship  and  the 
Archbishop  of  Baltimore  would  correct  the  mis- 
take which  crept,  I  do  not  know  how,  into  the 
letters  of  the  Right  Rev.  Doctor  Concanen,  and 
would  suggest  the  name  of  another  worthy  of 
the  honor,  and  competent  for  the  work.  I 
hereby  correct  my  mistake,  my  Lord,  viz:  the 
mission  I  was   asking  for  is  situated   in    Uj^-per 


198  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1808- 

Louisiana,  some  distance  from  the  little  town  of 
St.  Louis,  in  the  vicinity  of  which  the  Trappists 
are  finally  trying  to  settle  down,  and  some  three 
hundred  miles  from  here.  The  place  designated 
in  the  Roman  letters  is  in  Lower  Louisiana,  the 
metropolis  of  which  is  New  Orleans  and  more 
than  one  thousand  miles  distant  from  here.  If  I 
expressed  myself  inadequately,  please  excuse  me  ; 
and  procure  me,  I  beseech  you,  the  grace  of  end- 
ing my  days  in  my  humble  position.  .  .  . 
"  Your  humble  and  obedient  servant, 

"  C.  JN'erinckx."  * 

Now  that  he  thought  that  matter  set  aside, 
and  considering  that  with  the  arrival  of  the  new 
Bishop,  Kentucky  would  have  a  full  supply  of 
priests.  Father  Nerinckx  turned  his  longing  eyes 
to  the  abandoned  missions  of  Upper  Louisiana, 
the  poverty  of  which  tempted  his  disinterested 
zeal.  More  and  more  convinced  in  his  own 
mind  that  he  was  rather  a  precursor  to  his 
brethren  in  the  priesthood  than  a  real  mission- 
ary— a  border  pioneer,  whose  duty  it  was  to 
clear  up  the  land  and  prepare  it  for  the  more 
elaborate  cultivation  of  subsequent  tillers — he 
now  directly  applied  to  Archbishop  Carroll  "to 
be  assigned  to  some  of  the  stations  in  Louisiana 
deprived  of  laborers,  which  Father  Badin  has 
enumerated  to  your  Lordship.  There  are  a 
great  many  such,  but,  if  it  be  the  will  of  God,  it 
would  perhaps  be  best  to  send  me  to  the  vicinity 

*  Baltimore  MSS. 


1809.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  199^ 

of  the  Trappist  Fathers,  who  tell  me  they  will 
settle  in  the  parish  of  CahoJcias,  not  far  from  a 
place  commonly  called  St.  Louis,  where  they 
hope  to  be  of  some  help  to  Rev.  Ollivier  and 
Rev.  Maxwell."  * 

But  the  storm  of  abuse,  spoken  of  in  the  pre- 
ceding chapter,  -which  had  scarcely  subsided, 
now  rose  with  more  vehemence  than  ever,  this 
time  against  Father  Badin ;  and  his  guest  being 
the  only  one  in  whom  he  could  confide  or  to 
whom  he  could  apply  for  good  counsel  and  ef- 
ficient help,  the  Vicar-general  insisted  upon  his 
remaining  in  Kentucky  until  peace  should  be  re- 
stored. 

Considerable  trouble  had  been  brewing  in  St. 
Michael's  mission,  where  the  people  showed  the 
most  culpable  indifference  for  priest  and  church ; 
the  cemetery  was  so  badly  neglected  that  the 
cattle  had  free  access  to  it  and  desecrated  the 
o-raves.  The  missionaries  had  vainly  endeav- 
ored  to  bring  these  catholics  to  a  sense  of  their 
duty,  and  five  consecutive  attemj)ts  of  Rev.  Ba- 
din had  resulted  in  utter  failure.  Father  ISTer- 
inckx,  always  more  sensible  to  the  wrongs  done 
to  others  than  to  his  own,  went  thither  on  Sexa- 
gesima  Sunday  of  1809,  determined  to  settle 
matters  to  the  satisfaction  of  priest  and  people  ; 
and  he  succeeded.  Three  families,  among  them 
Nancy  Elder,  Avere  prevailed  upon  to  come  for- 
ward and  publicly  submit  to  the  church  au- 
thority, by  subscribing  the  formula  prescribed 

*  Letter  to  Archbishop  CarrolL     Baltimore  MSS. 


200  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX. 

by  the  Archbishop  of  Baltimore  ;  and,  in  a  few 
weeks,  only  seven  families  in  the  whole  mission, 
who  could  not  easily  be  reached  because  living 
at  the  very  outskirts  of  the  settlements,  re- 
mained stubborn  and  jDersevered  in  their  opposi- 
tion to  Father  Badin;  "and  all  that,"  writes 
Father  Nerinckx  to  the  Archbishop,  "because 
they  do  not  want  him  to  be  Bishop  of  Kentucky  ! 
Indeed,  they  could  fare  worse ;  although  that 
reverend  gentleman  has  repeatedly  said  in  my 
presence  that  he  would  refuse  the  appointment 
if  tendered  to  him.  They  could  have  expressed 
their  views  with  less  harm  to  the  church  and  to 
themselves.  Their  conventicles  always  end  in 
riots  and  dances  ;  several  of  these,  called  frolics, 
frisks,  or  dancings,  having  taken  place  in  Holy 
Cross  congregation,  ending  in  women's  fights ; 
and,  at  the  very  time  that  I  had  announced  the 
establishment  of  the  confraternity  of  the  Holy 
JSTame  in  St.  Charles  parish,  a  number  of  so- 
called  catholics,  ejusdem  farince,  held  dances  on 
the  limits  of  that  congregation."* 

Father  Badin  suffered  greatly  from  all  these 
petty  persecutions  ;  but  his  ever  trusty  and  less 
impulsive  confrere  consoled  him  with  the 
thought  that  they  were  fighting  the  good  fight, 
and  that  their  endeavors  for  the  good  of  the  peo- 
ple were  appreciated  by  the  many  and  applauded 
by  their  superiors.  The  venerable  Mr.  JN^agot 
wrote  to  him  from  Baltimore :  "  Constans  esto. 
Thanks  be  to  the   Lord  that  we  have  excellent 

*  Baltimore  MSS. 


1809.]         LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  201 

and  good  teachers  here ;  but  it  is  a  matter  of  sur- 
prise to  us,  that  a  country  reclaimed  from  the 
savages  only  about  twelve  years  ago,  should  so 
far  exceed  the  seat  of  the  government  of  the 
United  States  in  point  of  piety  and  christian 
discipline,  that  we  can  not  but  attribute  a  great 
part  of  the  merit  of  the  miracle  to  your  zeal  and 
fervor.  .  .  ."  Bishop  Neale  encouraged 
them  in  the  following  words :  "  You  have  en- 
tered the  lists  to  promote  the  grand  work  ;  never 
yield  till  you  accomplish  it."  And  these  senti- 
ments were  indorsed  by  one  whose  approbation 
they  prized  above  all  others,  the  Patriarch  of 
the  American  Church,  Archbishop  Carroll,  who 
wrote :  "I  am  sure  that  many  abuses  will  be 
prevented,  if  you  succeed  in  your  commendable 
endeavors,  and  I  encourage  you  to  persever- 
ance." 

Father  !N'erinckx  now  thought  that  nothing 
further  interfered  with  his  plans  for  the  evan- 
gelization of  Upper  Louisiana.*  A  number  of 
catholic  families  had  emigrated  from  Kentucky 
to  that  region  in  1797,  and  settled  in  Perry 
county,  in  the  neighborhood  of  what  was  subse- 
quently known  as  St.  Mary's  of  the  Barrens. 
Josiah  Miles,  William  Carico,  and  several  other 
families,  who  subsequently  moved,  in  1810,  to  St. 
Louis  county  and  settled  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Missouri  river,  having  heard  of  Father  Ner- 
inckx'  intention  of  going  out  there,  asked  him  to 

*  Upper  Louisiana  included  all  the  territory  of  the  present 
State  of  Missouri. 


•202  I'lFI^  OF  KEV.  CHARLES  NEIIINCKX.         [1808- 

accompany  them ;  and  our  missionary  once  more 
wrote  to  Archbishop  Carroll,  urging  the  oppor- 
tuneness of  his  being  sent  to  Upper  Louisiana, 
for  the  following  reasons  : 

"  1.  There  are  two  villages,  St.  Louis  and  *S'^. 
Charles,  about  twenty  miles  distant  one  from  the 
other,  which  have  together  a  population  of  about 
two  hundred  families,  and  are  fifty  miles  away 
from  the  nearest  priest. 

"2.  There  is  a  congregation,  called  TucJcer^s 
Settlement,  of  about  sixty  families,  seventy  miles 
away  from  the  former  place,  and  another  known 
by  the  name  of  Fenwick  having  twenty  families, 
and  thirty  miles  away  from  the  first.  All  these 
people  are  scattered  far  and  wide  and  never  see 
a  priest. 

"  3.  Many  infidel  Indians  live  in  the  vicinity, 
and  it  is  asserted  that  my  labors  among  them 
would  not  be  without  fruit. 

"4.  This  extensive  field,  perhajjs  ready  for 
the  harvest,  is  never  visited  by  a  priest.  What 
faith,  what  morals,  can  these  poor  people  have  ? 
How  many  of  them  who  perhaps  lose  their  souls 
for  the  want  of  an  evangelical  laborer ! 

"  5.  There  are  only  two  priests  in  the  whole 
region,  and  they  live  one  hundred  miles  apart. 
One  of  them.  Rev.  Mr.  Olivier,  is  a  very  pious 
man,  but  old  and  totally  ignorant  of  the  English 
language.  Plis  pastoral  charge  extends,  more- 
over, over  a  district  entirely  distinct  from  the 
one  I  refer  to,  and,  if  reports  are  correct,  he  will 
soon  be  forced  by  old  age  or  death  to  vacate  the^ 


1809.]         LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  20-5 

field,  for  his  congregation  stands  already  now  in 
need  of  an  assistant  priest.  The  other  priest, 
Rev.  Mr.  Maxwell,  is  sufficiently  known  ;  he  re- 
sides seventy  miles  from  Tucker's  Settlement. 
This  is  a  sad  state  of  affairs,  my  Lord.  Prac- 
tically speaking,  and  taking  into  consideration 
the  limited  work  Father  Olivier  is  capable  of, 
the  position  of  Mr.  Maxwell,  and  the  little  help 
the  Trappists  will  give,  this  large  number  of 
families,  scattered  over  an  area  of  more  than  two 
hundred  miles  in  extent,  is,  so  to  say,  without  a 
priest. 

"  Having,  therefore,  considered  before  God 
the  wants  of  this  mission,  I  can  not  see  how  I 
can  decline  that  reasonable  call  unless  my  su- 
periors decide  otherwise.  Your  Lordship  having 
the  necessary  jurisdiction  to  provide  for  those 
missions,  I  humbly  entreat  you  to  send  me  at 
once  the  necessary  faculties,  instructions,  etc., 
to  emigrate  to  Upper  Louisiana,  for  these  poor 
people  most  ardently  wish  for  a  priest.*    .    .    ." 

The  Archbishop's  answer  was  any  thing  but 
favorable  to  the  projects  of  our  missionary,  and 
renewed  all  his  former  fears.  The  delay  of 
Bishop  Flaget  in  accepting  the  mitre,  caused  a 
great  deal  of  annoyance  to  Archbishop  Carroll, 
who  thought  that,  a  Bishop  having  been  ap- 
pointed for  Kentucky,  he  could  no  longer  exer- 
cise jurisdiction  in  that  State  or  grant  the  dis- 
pensations asked  for  by  the  Kentucky  clergy. 
This  he  gave  as  a  reason  for  not  granting  Father 

*  Baltimore  MSS. 


204  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1808- 

Nerinckx'  request,  pleading  at  the  same  time 
the  wants  of  Lower  Louisiana.  Religion  suf- 
fered greatly  in  New  Orleans,  and  the  Arch- 
bishop intimated  that  he  felt  disposed  to  force 
upon  the  humble  priest  the  acceptance  of  the 
administration  of  that  diocese. 

Father  Nerinckx  again  wrote,  trying  to  con- 
vince Archbishop  Carroll  of  his  inability  to  per- 
form the  expected  task,  and  expressing  his 
honest  opinion  that  greater  than  an  adminis- 
trator's powers  were  needed  in  the  present  emer- 
gency. His  were  conscientious  motives,  and  his 
letter  so  thoroughly  explains  the  situation  of  af- 
fairs, that  we  venture  to  give  it  in  full,  at  the 
risk  of  trying  the  patience  of  some  of  our 
readers. 

It  bears  no  date,  but  must  have  been  written 
in  the  Fall  of  1809 — in  August- — as  appears  from 
the  context: 

"  Right  Rev.  and  Illustrious  Sir: 

"  I  understand  from  your  honored  letters  that 
your  reason  for  not  granting  my  wishes  is  the 
delay  of  Bishop  Concanen's  arrival,  who  is  the 
bearer  of  Roman  Briefs  that  will  put  an  end  to 
your  doubts  about  the  controverted  jurisdiction. 
Personally,  I  am  of  opinion  that,  till  now,  your 
Lordship's  jurisdiction  over  the  whole  diocese 
has  not  been  limited,  since  no  circumscription 
of  new  dioceses  has  been  determined  upon.  Such 
at  least  was  the  practice  in  the  old  country, 
where,  although  nominated  to  a  pastoral  bene- 


1809.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  205 

fice,  we  could  do  nothing  until  we  had  taken  the 
customary  oath  before  the  Ordinary ;  the  juris- 
diction of  the  attending  priest  remained  entire 
until  the  Elect  had  fulfilled  all  the  formalities 
of  the  Curia.  But  I  willingly  acknowledge  my 
ignorance  in  these  canonical  processes,  with 
which  I  never  had  a  reason  to  suspect  I  should 
have  any  thing  to  do. 

"  I  am  often  covered  with  confusion  when  I 
reflect  how  troublesome  a  writer  I  must  appear 
to  your  Lordship,  whom  I  so  frequently  annoy 
with  trifling  affairs ;  but  you  have  so  far  dealt 
patiently  with  my  foolishness,  and  I  beseech  you 
to  hear  me  again  with  fatherly  kindness.  Tiie 
subject  will  not  seem  of  little  consequence  to  your 
Paternity,  since  you  are  usually  so  solicitous 
about  the  salvation  of  one  single  soul.  Pardon 
me,  therefore,  my  Lord,  if  I  appear  struggling 
to  '  deliver  my  only  one  from  the  hand  of  the 
dog,'  for  I  have  suffered  persecution  and  exile 
for  it. 

"  I  have  noted  several  passages  in  your  wel- 
come letter,  upon  which  I  shall,  with  all  due 
reverence,  present  the  following  comments : 

"  1.  I  would  like  to  live  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
Trappists  solely  to  have  near  me  a  confessor 
who  would  help  me  with  his  advice  and  prayers 
in  all  difficulties,  whilst  I  could,  in  the  intervals, 
make  such  excursions  among  the  settlements  as 
my  health  and  strength  would  permit;  for, 
from  what  I  hear,  there  is,  in  Upper  Louisiana, 


206  ^IFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1808- 

work  without  end  or  intermission,  and  no  tem- 
poral comfort  whatever. 

"2.  When  I  consider  the  state  of  the  Ken- 
tucky diocese  at  large,  under  such  favorable  aus- 
pices of  a  coming  abundance  of  laborers,  the 
necessity  of  my  remaining  any  longer  in  this 
region  completely  disappears ;  whilst  in  that 
part  of  Louisiana  I  was  speaking  of,  extreme 
want  and  penury  call  most  emphatically  for  any 
priest  who  can  be  spared.  It  is  entirely  desti- 
tute of  workers,  over  one  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  away  from  a  priest ;  it  counts  hundreds  of 
families — catholics,  or  rather  to  be  made  catho- 
lics over  again — scattered  in  divers  settlements. 
Many  new  families  are  continually  going  out 
there,  and  will  emigrate  in  greater  numbers 
when  they  see  me  or  any  other  priest  settled 
there.  That  the  hopes  of  a  greater  number  of 
priests  in  the  Kentucky  diocese  will  be  realized 
without  a  doubt,  is  abundantly  proved  by  the 
promises  of  the  Sulpitians,  the  notable  increase 
of  Dominican  Fathers,  the  erection  of  a  Semi- 
nary, etc. ;  and,  in  all  that,  there  ought  to  be  an 
excess  of  consolation  to  Rev.  Father  Badin, 
Avho  is  undoubtedly  of  greater  worth  than  I  am. 

"  3.  But  let  us  see  how  we  should  look  upon 
what  your  Lordship  says  toward  the  end  of  your 
letter  (and  that  without  hypcrbohi,  I  am  sure,) 
of  the  extreme  and  unutterable  miseries  and  dif- 
ficulties of  the  diocese  of  New  Orleans :  There 
is,  you  say,  great  corporal  misery — this  I  have, 
with  the  grace  of  God,  learned  to  despise — but 


1809.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  207 

immeasurably  greater  spiritual  misery,  which 
■ought  to  be  looked  upon  as  extreme,  from  the 
very  fact  that  the  present  very  worthy  Vicar- 
general  Olivier  has  tried  every  thing  in  vain  to 
remedy  the  evil.  I  have  heard  as  much  here, 
and  that  more  than  once  from  men  who  had 
heard  and  seen  it — been  witnesses  to  it  all.  But 
what  would  I,  in  my  nothingness,  succeeding  to 
so  worthy  and  experienced  a  man,  effect,  where 
so  great  a  one  has  worked  in  vain?  .  .  . 
Allow  me  to  observe,  in  the  next  place,  of  how 
little  weight  the  authority  of  a  Vicar-general  has 
been  considered,  even  in  a  man  who  is  most 
worthy  of  the  position,  and  who  has  been  substi- 
tuted in  the  place  of  another  Vicar  of  similar 
merit  and  equal  ill-success.  Remember  how 
■  shamefully  that  authority  has  been  despised  by 
clergy  and  people,  which  your  Lordship  so 
justly  styles  by  their  right  name  of  firebrands 
of  discord,  scum  of  many  nations,  controlled  by 

that  God-forsaken  Anthony ,*  a  man  of  the 

most  wicked  dispositions,  who  is  the  cause  of  all 
the  trouble  there  ;  and  your  Lordship  will  have 
to  come  to  the  natural  conclusion  that  the  hope 
of  a  successful  end  to  all  these  difficulties  can  be 
based  only  upon  an  authority  of  sufficient  influ- 
ence to  enforce  obedience  to  its  commands,  and 
backed  by  a  science  profound  enough  to  '  con- 
vince the  gainsayers.'  That  such  an  authority 
can  be  no  less  than  the  episcopal  one,  is  clearly 
proved  by  the  two  unsuccessful  attempts  of  two 

*He  subsequently  submitted  to  Bishop  Dubourg. 


208  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1808- 

Vicar-generals ;  for  episcopal  authority  alone 
can  quell  all  pretexts,  subterfuges,  and  cavil] a- 
tions.  I  am  convinced  that  the  people,  and  per- 
haps also  some  of  the  clergy,  will  have  respect 
enough  for  religious  principles  to  give  to  their 
Bishop  the  honor  which  is  his  due,  and  to  see 
the  difference  between  episcopal  and  any  other 
inferior  authority. 

"An  observation  akin  to  this  is,  that,  if  a 
Bishop  has  to  be  everywhere  perfect  in  all  re- 
spects, he  must  be  more  especially  so  in  T^ew  Or- 
leans ;  and,  Right  Reverend  and  dearest  Father 
in  Christ,  what  kind  of  administrator  would  I  be 
in  such  a  position,  I  should  like  to  know? 
What  a  figure  I  would  cut,  indeed!  They 
would  justly  scoff  at  such  a  foolish  leader,  and, 
to  use  the  words  of  Peter  Bles :  '  Illiterate  and 
foolish,  will  I  not,  as  a  Bishop,  be  an  idol  of 
o-rief  and  sadness,  which  God  selected  in  his 
wrath  for  the  desolation  of  the  people, 
so  that  it  will  come  to  pass  what  is  read  in  St. 
Matthew  :  "  When  you  shall  see  the  abomination  of 
desolation  in  the  holt/ place,''  etc'  Xor  can  I  be 
said  to  have  been  nominated  by  the  Holy  See 
for  the  administration  of  that  diocese,  and  hence 
designated  for  it  by  Divine  Providence.  Why  ? 
Because  it  is  plain  to  me  that  the  very  opposite 
is  to  be  construed  from  the  Brief.  The  Holy 
See  itself  acknowledges  how  little  I  am  known, 
since  it  has  recourse  to  your  Lordship,  to  whom 
I  am  scarcely  known  for  one  or  two  years,  and 
that  only  by  vague  rumors  from  a  most  distant 


1809.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  209 

region.  These  rumors  seem  to  me  to  be  alto- 
gether too  doubtful  to  make  them  the  basis  for 
the  election  of  a  man,  otherwise  unknown,  tO' 
so  tremendous  a  ministry,  in  such  a  fearful  per- 
turbation of  the  church,  and  that  in  a  place  so 
far  from  help  and  counsel,  that  it  has  scarcely 
been  able  to  obtain  a  remedy  to  one  single  evil 
during  the  lapse  of  so  many  years,  besides  being- 
hampered,  or  at  least  left  to  its  fate,  by  the  civil 
power. 

"  These  arguments  seem  to  me  conclusive 
ones  ;  at  least  I  can  not  find  any  thing  to  object 
to  them.  jN'or  do  I  hereby  intend  to  find  fault 
with  the  way  my  superiors  have  acted.  They 
may  have  been  imposed  upon,  and  deceived  by 
false  or  erroneous  reports ;  nor  was  any  thing, 
up  till  now,  determined  upon.  Besides,  my  mind 
is  continually  agitated  with  thoughts  and  reflec- 
tions, the  conclusion  of  which  is  ever  the  one 
suggested  by  St.  Grregory  in  his  L.  S.  Pastor., 
chapter  9  :  '  He  who  is  void  of  virtues  should 
not  come  forward,  even  if  forced  to.' 

"  To  open  my  heart  entirely  to  you,  the  place, 
not  the  honor,  would  be  my  due;  because  no 
comfort — a  thing  which  I  never  merited — but  un- 
doubted and  great  difficulties,  which  I  have, 
alas !  but  too  often  provoked,  await  me  there. 
I  would  ardently  wish  to  meet  these,  were  it  not 
that  my  lack  of  virtue  would  insure  my  inevi- 
table ruin. 

"  I  am  detaining  your  Lordship  too  long,  and 


210  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1808- 

Avould  detain  you  ever  so  much  longer,  were  I  only 
to  indicate  in  a  few  words  my  many  reasons  for 
lamentation.  I  will  therefore  condense  in  a  few 
sentences  what  I  would  like  to  say  and  prove  in 
many :  1.  There  is  no  need  of  my  staying  in 
Kentucky,  nor  will  there  be  after  the  advent  of 
the  Bishop.  2.  I  might  perhaps  be  of  some  use 
in  that  \yArt  of  Louisiana,  where  so  many 
heathens,  heretics,  nominal  catholics,  etc.,  live, 
scattered  among  many  widely  distant  settle- 
ments without  any  priest.  3.  In  no  being  could 
you  find  qualities  more  diametrically  opposed  to 
those  which  the  great  ministry  of  a  Bishop  de- 
mands, than  there  appear  even  at  first  sight  in 
a  poor  and  miserable  candidate,  who  urgently 
asks  for  the  glory  of  God  and  for  the  honor  of 
our  much  beloved  and  too  greatly  afflicted 
mother  church,  that  his  soul,  and  that  of  so 
many  others  to  Avhom  he  could  not  but  be  a 
greater  cause  of  ruin,  may  be  spared.     .     .     . 

"  Whilst  I  finish  my  letter,  we  celebrate  the 
feast  of  St.  Philip  Benitius,  in  the  lesson  of 
whose  office  I  find  that  he  concealed  himself  in 
the  mountains  of  Tuniatum  as  long  as  necessary, 
in  order  not  to  be  forced  to  accept  the  burden  of 
the  Pastoral  Office ;  and  your  Paternity  knows 
better  than  I  do,  how  many  similar  facts  the 
catalogue  of  saintly  men  records.  If  such  a 
thing  was  commendable  in  a  saint,  what  will  not 
a  poor  miserable  sinner  as  I  am  do?  Since, 
however,  I  stumbled  in  the  first  Nocturn  of  this 
day  on  those  words  of  Ecclesiastes :    '  Children, 


1809.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  211 

hear  the  judgment  of  your  Father,  and  so  do 
that  you  may  be  saved ;  '  and  in  the  Grospel  of 
the  Mass  :  '  You  are  my  friends,  if  you  do  what 
I  command  you  ;  .  .  .  you  have  not  chosen 
Me,  but  I  have  chosen  you ; '  and  since  I  have 
always  made  it  my  rule  of  conduct  to  hear,  in 
all  things,  '  the  Bishops  whom  the  Holy  Grho.st 
has  placed  to  rule  the  church  of  Grod,'  I  there- 
fore repeat  what  I  said  so  often — for  '  anguish 
surrounds  me,  aye,  the  sorrows  of  hell  encom- 
pass me  ' — I  commend  again  my  life  and  death 
to  your  Paternity,  so  that  I  may  finally  know 
the  will  of  God. 

"  Your  Lordship  will,  I  am  sure,  excuse  me, 
remembering  that  if  careful  deliberation  i«  re- 
quired anywhere,  it  is  without  doubt  necessary 
when  a  thing  is  to  be  decided  for  ever.  And  if 
your  Lordship  coincides  with  my  views  in  send- 
ing me  to  Upper  Louisiana — and  without  doubt 
you  have  the  necessary  jtirisdiction  to  do  so — I 
beg  you  will  dispatch  my  letters  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible, for  many  from  Kentucky  are  going  out 
there  this  fall,  and  I  could  save  expenses  in  their 
company.  A  thousand  thanks  for  your  paternal 
solicitude  toward 

"  Your  humble  and  obedient  servant, 

"  C.  Nerinckx."  * 

The  Archbishop  could  no  longer  withstand 
the  earnest  prayers  and  unselfish  reasons  of  the 
humble    priest ;   qja  the  other  hand,  the  "  Sover- 

*  Baltimore  MSS. 


212  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1808- 

eign  Pontiff  had  yielded  to  the  entreaties  of  Mr. 
T^erinckx,  supported  by  the  suffrage  of  his 
brethren  in  the  ministry ;  and  he  did  not  insist 
on  his  accepting  the  appointment."  *  And  the 
following  extract  of  a  letter  of  Father  Nerinckx 
to  Archbishop  Carroll,  dated  November  15, 
1809,  tells  the  result :  "  The  Dominican  Father 
Fenwick  has  just  arrived  in  Kentucky,  bearer 
of  the  good  news  that,  in  the  opinion  of  your 
Lordship,  I  would  not  suit  for  the  place.  That 
has  been  my  constant  personal  belief,  and  the 
opinion  of  all  people  of  sense.  And  now  I  am 
freed  from  that  nomination — Benedicam  Domiiio 
in  omni  tempore;  semper  laus  ejus  in  ore  meof  "  "  I 
Avill  bless  the  Lord  at  all  times ;  his  praise  shall 
be  always  in  my  mouth  !  "  exclaimed  the  thankful 
priest,  with  genuine  delight. 

Archbishop  Carroll  approved  at  the  same 
time  of  Father  IS'erinckx'  resolution  to  migrate 
to  the  missions  of  Upper  Louisiana,  for  the 
reasons  given  in  his  former  letter,  and  pro- 
nounced it  "  apparently  inspired  by  the  spirit  of 
God."  But  Father  Badin  being  his  Vicar- 
general  for  the  Far  West,  the  Prelate  directed 
Father  Nerinckx  to  apply  to  him  for  the  neces- 
sary faculties.  The  latter  did  not  in  the  least 
relish  that  way  of  acting,  for,  as  he  wrote  to 
Baltimore :  "I  know  Father  Badin  well,  and  to 
commit  this  matter  to  him,  is  to  refuse  my  re- 
quest peremi)torily."  And  so  it  was.  The 
Vicar-general  had  no  one  whom  he  could  depend 

*  "  Sketches  of  Kentucky." 


1809  ]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  213 

upon  for  help ;  the  Dominicans  were  not  under 
his  jurisdiction,  and  Rev.  OTlynn,  but  lately 
arrived,  could  hardly  be  relied  upon  to  settle 
permanently  in  the  Kentucky  mission.  He 
therefore  insisted  upon  Father  Nerinckx  remain- 
ing at  his  post. 

Truly,  man  proposes  and  God  disposes ! 
Father  Nerinckx'  reasons  for  desiring  the  Louis- 
iana mission  were  praiseworthy ;  his  Bishop 
thought  him  inspired  by  God  for  the  salvation 
of  souls  ;  and,  in  the  light  of  the  extreme  misery 
of  these  abandoned  people,  we  are  inclined  to 
look  upon  Rev.  Badin's  motives  for  retaining 
him  as  unreasonable ;  yet  the  inscrutable  de- 
signs of  God's  Providence  willed  it  so.  The  true 
work  of  Father  Nerinckx  in  Kentucky  had  not 
yet  begun ;  and  for  that  work  of  love — the 
foundation  of  a  religious  community  which  was 
to  cover  Kentucky  and  the  Southwestern  States 
with  educational  establishments — God  willed 
that  he  should  remain. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

1810. 

Missionary  labors. — St.  Anthoxy's,  Rough  Creek. — St.  James', 
Clifty. — St.  Bernard's,  Adair  City. — Other  settlements. — 
Father  Nerinckx'  courage,  cheerfulness,  and  kindness. — His 

adventure    with    a   wolf. — His     LABORS    IN     THE    CONFESSIONAL. — 

The  fruits  of  his  zeal. — A  touching  incident. 

Father  Nerinckx'  mind  being  once  more  at 
rest — for  he  always  looked  upon  the  will  of  the 
least  of  his  superiors  as  being  the  will  of  God — 
he  set  on  foot  new  plans  for  the  extension  of  our 
Holy  Faith  in  Kentucky,  which,  he  was  now 
satisfied,  would  be  his  home  and  the  field  of  his 
labors. 

"  Rev.  Badin  having  come  from  Louisville 
in  March,  1810,  with  the  pleasing  information 
that  religious  matters  were  prospering  in  that 
promising  hamlet,"*  Father  Nerinckx  left  St. 
Stephen's  on  a  missionary  tour.  The  results  of 
his  observations  and  his  plans  for  the  future  are 
embodied  in  the  following  letters  f  to  Arch- 
bishop Carroll : 

*  Baltimore  MSS.     Rev.  Nerinckx'  letter  to  Archbishop  Car- 
roll of  March  13,  1810. 
f  Baltimore  MSS. 
(214) 


1810.]         LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NEKINCKX.  215- 

''Ajoril  14,  1810. 
^^BigJit  Bev.  Sir : 

"...  Last  month  I  was  sent  to  the- 
Rough  Creek  congregation  of  St.  Anthony,  about 
eighty  miles  from  here.*  There  seems  to  be> 
room  in  that  circuit  for  about  four  hundred  fami- 
lies, who  might  settle  there  and  make  a  very 
good  living\  I  am  in  hopes  of  getting  five  hun- 
dred acres  of  land  for  the  church,  and  our 
catholics  are  already  circulating  subscription 
lists  to  enable  them  to  build  three  churches  in 
that  region.  About  forty  families  have  actually 
settled  there,  and  that  number  will  soon  increase 
if  I  go  with  them,  for  many  suffer  want  here  be- 
cause straitened  in  too  narrow  a  circuit.  St. 
Anthony's  is  about  half-way  between  our  episco- 
pal city  [Bardstown]  and  an  incipient  settlement 
on  the  Ohio  called  Redbank,f  where  there  are 
at  present  ten  catholic  families,  and  which  has 
great  prospects  and  a  reasonable  hope  of  becom- 
ing a  very  populous  city.  I  have  therefore  re- 
solved to  select  it  as  my  resident  statiou.    .    .    . 

"  We  hope  our  new  Bishop  will  soon  arrive. 
We  expect  him  daily,  together  with  some  priests 
to  help  us.     .     .     . 

"  I  remain, 

"Your  Lordship's 

Humble  and  obedient  servant, 

"  C.  Nerinckx." 

*0n  the  Long  Lick,  Breckinridge  county. 
•fNow  Henderson. 
215 


216  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [1810. 

''May,  1810.* 
''Right  Bev.  Sir: 

"  I  profit  of  this  opportunity  to  render  you  an 
account  of  what  has  lately  been  done  in  these 
missions.  Father  Badin  asked  me,  some  time 
ago,  to  visit  the  congregation  on  Bough  Creek. 
I  visited  it  and  found  the  people,  who,  for  the 
last  few  years  (whether  justly  or  not,  I  know 
not),  enjoy  a  not  very  enviable  reputation,  very 
much  afraid  of  me,  to  say  nothing  more.  .  .  . 
But  this  panic  soon  gave  way  to  peace  and  be- 
nevolence ;  and,  with  the  help  of  Grod,  I  suc- 
ceeded, during  my  first  visit,  in  raising  a  sub- 
scription for  the  land  and  the  church,  wdiich, 
with  some  help  out  of  my  own  purse,  amounts 
now  to  $800,  about  a  hundred  of  which  are  in 
silver  specie. 

"  From  there,  I  traveled  through  a  rather  ex- 
tensive tract  of  land  that  lies  within  a  range  of 
perhaps  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles,  and  in 
which  there  is  said  to  be  arable  land  enough  to 
comfortably  settle  four  hundred  families.  It  is 
situated  along  the  banks  of  the  Ohio  river,  from 
which  it  runs  back  fifteen,  and  in  some  places  as 
far  as  thirty  miles.  The  ground  is,  generally 
speaking,  better  than  in  our  vicinity,  being  fer- 
tilized by  rivers ;  but  at  present  the  whole  re- 
gion is  little  more  than  a  desert.  I  found  ten, 
if  not  eleven  spots,  where  missionary  stations 
might  conveniently  be  erected,  but  have  not  as 

*This  letter  is  not  dated;  but  its  Bardstown  postmark  bears 
date  May  31st,  and  the  context  clearly  points  to  1810. 


ISIO]         LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  217 

jet  examined  things  sufficiently  to  warrant  a  de- 
cision in  the  matter ;  I  hope  to  be  able  to  do  so 
within  a  fortnight.  Many  families  are  prepar- 
ing to  go  out  there,  and  entreat  me  to  go  with 
them  ;  nor  can  I  refuse  ;  because,  although  I  am 
in  constant  doubt  about  my  own  sj^iritual  inter- 
ests, the  good  of  the  church  and  the  temporal 
welfare  of  our  catholics  seem  to  demand  it;  and, 
since  it  is  apparently  expedient  that  I  should 
Temain  in  Kentucky  to  be  of  some  help  to 
priests  and  people,  I  can  not  do  this  more  ef- 
ficiently than  by  going  out  with  them.  About 
fifty  catholic  families  are  at  present  scattered 
over  that  region,  some  living  a  hundred  miles 
from  here ;  and  I  feel  confident  that  within  a 
year,  more  than  one  hundred  families  (indeed,  I 
should  not  wonder  if  they  numbered  two  hun- 
dred,) will  join  these  in  the  different  settle- 
ments. This  would  considerably  lighten  the  bur- 
den of  the  priests  who  reside  here,  and  increase 
mine,  nor  does  the  plan  displease  Rev.  Father. 
Badin. 

"  Captain  John  Hanley  gives  to  the  church  four 
hundred  acres  on  the  Adani's  Fork,  fifteen  miles 
from  Rough  Creek.  I  will  try  to  make  him  in- 
crease the  grant  to  six  hundred  acres,  because 
I  would  like  to  have  a  school  for  girls  connected 
with  it,  and  he  once  before  otfered  that  much 
to  the  sisters  of  the  congregation  of  the  Blessed 
Yirgin  Mary. 

"N.   Beits,  a  Methodist  preacher,  oifers  two 


218  LIFE  OF  I'lEV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [1810.. 

hundred  acres  on  Rough  Creek ;  and  Thomas 
Smith,  a  preacher's  son,  twenty  dollars  toward 
the  building  of  a  chapel. 

"  Mr.  Stoddard  gives  us  five  hundred  acres  in 
Clifty,  where  he  once  offered  five  thousand.  I 
think  this  large  and  liberal  offer  should  have 
been  accepted  at  the  time.  I  have  accepted  the 
five  hundred  just  mentioned,  for  which  your 
Grace  will  please  give  in  my  name  to  Mr. 
Stoddard  the  thanks  of  the  church.  I  have  se- 
lected this  grant  in  the  neighborhood  of  St. 
James  congregation,  where  two  or  three  catholic 
families  have  just  now  commenced  building.  I 
wish  we  could  obtain  a  similar  grant  a  few  miles 
away  from  this  one ;  in  the  course  of  time,  an- 
other congregation  might  be  started  there. 
True,  the  greater  portion  of  that  farm  is  rather 
poor  land  ;  but  it  might  perhaps  suit  the  poorer 
classes,  unable  to  buy  a  home  in  more  fertile 
quarters.  Inclosed  please  find  a  letter  for  Mr. 
Stoddard,  in  which  I  ask  for  five  hundred  acres 
more.  He  is  perhaps  not  aware  that  I  know  of 
his  five  thousand  offer,  so  that  your  Grace  can 
act  as  you  see  fit ;  may  be  you  will  obtain  more 
than  five  hundred  acres.  I  would  like  you  to 
transact  this  business  immediately  if  possible, 
because  the  sooner  catholics  buy  the  land,  the 
cheaper  they  will  get  it. 

"  The  church  of  St.  Clare  will  be  finished  this 
month.  Although  small,  it  has  cost  me  almost 
three  years  of  incessant  labor  to  build  it,  owing 
to  the  lack  of  zeal  of  the  thirtv-four  families- 


1810.]         LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  219' 

constituting  this  congregation,  which  I  have 
attended  for  four  years  without  one  cent  of  sal- 
ary. 

"About  six  months  ago,  we  have  bought  in  my 
St.  Bernard's  congregation,  Adair  county,*  where 
the  Trappists  used  to  live,  four  hundred  and 
thirty-four  acres  of  land,  at  one  dollar  in  silver 
an  acre.  I  have  personally  contributed  |100,  and 
donated  the  sacred  vestments.  There  are  thir- 
teen catholic  families,  all  but  one  meriting  well 
of  the  church,  and  we  have  commenced  building 
a  chapel  which  I  wish  to  finish  before  winter 
sets  in.  The  subscription  that  I  took  up  among 
these  newly  settled  poor  people  for  the  purchase 
of  the  land  and  the  building  of  the  church  ex- 
ceeds $800;  so  true  it  is  that  good  will  with 
poverty  is  worth  more  for  the  honor  of  God, 
than  bad  will  with  all  the  treasures  of  the  deep. 
I  beg,  therefore,  that  when  I  leave,  this  people, 
who,  considering  their  small  means  and  num- 
bers, have  so  willingly  and  liberally  provided 
for  the  church  and  priest,  have  also  a  share  in 
the  kind  offices  of  the  church.  I  have  promised 
to  attend  them  as  long  as  I  can ;  but  this  place 
will  be  two  hundred  miles  from  the  extreme 
limit  of  the  new  tract ;  however,  I  desire  to  finish 
the  building  of  the  church,  and  I  may  perhaps 
live  there  for  a  short  time,  when,  used  up,  I 
shall  patiently  expect  death.  Being  remote 
from  all  worldly  noise,  this  settlement  is  not 
likely  to  become  very  populous.     .     .     . 

*  Now  Casey  county. 


220  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1810. 

"  If  any  vestments  arrive  for  me,  send  them  at 
once,  for  I  have  exhausted  my  own  treasury  in 
procuring  them,  and  we  stand  yet  in  need  of  a 
great  many.     With  due  reverence,  I  remain, 
"  Of  your  Lordship, 

"  The  humble  and  obedient  servant, 

"  C.  Nerinckx." 

''August  17,  1810. 
*'  BigJit  Bev.  Sir  : 

"...  Be  kind  enough  to  address  your 
letters  to  the  station  for  which  I  am  just  prepar- 
ing to  leave. 

"  There  are  at  least  ten  places,  and  that  at  a 
considerable  distance  one  from  the  other,  in 
which  churches  may  be  built. 

"  1.  Adam^s  Creek,  already  known  by  the 
name  of  Loretto,*  twenty  miles  from  Rough 
Creek.  Captain  John  Hanley  gives  four  hun- 
dred acres  of  land  to  the  church  in  that  place. 

"  2.  Clifty,  in  Grayson  county,  thirty-five  miles 
from  Loretto. f  The  church  has  five  hundred 
acres  of  land  there. 

"  3.  Ilardingshurg,  twenty-six  miles  from  Lo- 
retto. The  church  possesses  three  acres  of  land 
in  that  town. 

"4.  Hartford,  seventeen  miles  from  Loretto, 

*  It  never  came  to  any  thing,  and  the  name  was  soon  forgot- 
ten. It  had  nevertheless  j^^-rtly  been  settled  by  catholics,  as 
appears  from  Father  Nerinekx'  appeal,  infra,  Chap.  XV. 

f  The  distances  are  measured  from  Adam's  Creek.  Loretto,  in 
Marion  county,  was  not  founded  till  two  years  later. 


1810.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  221 

where  the  church  also  has  three  acres  of  land  in 
the  town.* 

"5.  Little  Yellow  Bank,  forty  miles  from  Lo- 
retto.  Land  is  here  promised  for  a  church,  and 
a  subscription  started  to  build  it.f 

"  6.  Panther  Creek,  six  miles  from  Loretto, 
where  there  is  a  good  prospect  of  getting  a  dona- 
tion of  land.J 

"  7.  Highland,  over  seventy  miles  from  Lo- 
retto. A  catholic  of  that  place,  Robert  Alvey, 
gives  four  hundred  acres  of  good  land  to  the 
church.  <5 

"8.  In  Christian  county,  over  seventy  miles 
from  Loretto.  More  than  five  hundred  acres 
of  good   land  are  here  offered  to   the  church. || 

*  In  Ohio  county.  The  aged  Father  Durbin,  of  Princeton, 
observes  that  a  lot  was  given  in  that  locality  by  Mr.  Berry, 
which  was  subsequently  lost  to  the  church.  No  settlement  was 
made  there. 

■\  This  is  a  small  creek  in  Breckinridge  county,  below  Flint 
Island. 

J  Says  Father  Durbin  :  "  There  was  no  settlement  of  catholics 
on  Panther  Creek,  when  I  took  charge  of  Davies  county,  as  part 
of  my  mission,  fifty-two  years  ago,  or  in  1823.  There  were  three 
families,  the  men  non-catholics,  near  where  St.  Lawrence  stands, 
fifteen  miles  above  Owensboro.  There  was  no  catholic  settle- 
ment where  St.  Raphael  and  St.  Alphonsus  congregations  are  to- 
day." 

ISacred  Heart.,  Union  county.  Father  Durbin  says  that  two 
hundred  acres  were  subsequently  bought  from  Robert  Alvey. 
They  are  now  owned  by  the  Sisters  of  Charity  of  Nazareth,  who 
have  a  flourishing  boarding-school  there,  known  as  St.  Vincent's 
Academy.  The  present  Sacred  Heart  church,  on  the  edge  of 
that  farm,  and  about  three  hundred  yards  from  the  Academy,  is 
a  large  brick  building,  seven  miles  back  of  Uniontown,  on  the 
Ohio  river. 

II  The  catholic  settlement  was  not  made  there. 


:222  LIFE  OF  EEV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [1810. 

"9.  The  Great  Yellow  BanJcs^  forty  miles  from 
Loretto.  Here  also  four  hundred  acres  are 
promised.* 

"  10.  The  Fork  of  Rough.     Nothing  definite. 

"The  j^riest  stationed  in  this  tract  will,  from 
the  very  beginning,  have  to  travel  over  a  dis- 
trict one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  in  length, 
and  at  least  seventy  miles  in  width,  through  a 
desert  land,  where  there  is  no  way  and  no 
water;  for,  \\\)  till  now,  little  land  is  occupied 
by  actual  settlers.  Hence  I  have  to  prepare  my- 
self for  a  very  hard  life  and  arduous  labor,  al- 
though my  strength  of  body  and  soul  is  already 
declining.  It  will  be  verv  hard  for  me  to  live 
all  alone  at  such  a  great  distance  from  the  help 
of  another  priest,  but  my  brother  has  manifested 
his  intention  of  joining  me  here.f  Our  people 
seem  to  be  universally  delighted,  and  approve 
of  my  going  there,  hoping  to  obtain  homesteads 
and  farms  in  that  district  at   lower  rates.     At 

*  A  creek  in  Davies  county,  five  miles  from  Owensboro  (Yellow 
Banks).  There  is  now  a  large  body  of  catholic  descendants  of 
the  original  catholic  settlers  from  Maryland,  in  Davies  county, 
also  in  Union  county.  Many  small  congregations  are  located  in 
Hardin,  Meade  (St.  Teresa's  church  is  in  Meade  county,  two 
miles  from  the  creek),  Breckinridge,  and  other  counties  in  the 
lower  part  of  the  .State  and  adjacent  to  the  Ohio  river.  But  the 
great  mass  of  the  catholics  are  in  Marion,  Washington,  and  Nel- 
son counties,  which  are  the  cradle  of  catholicity  in  Kentucky, 
where  Father  Nerinckx  labored  and  spent  the  last  years  of  his 
life. 

f  He  never  did.  The  work  which  awaited  Charles  Nerinckx 
in  Kentucky  also  awaited  John  Henry  in  Somerstown,  London, 
where  he  established  a  religious  community  of  sisters  for  the 
education  of  the  poor.     He  died  in  London,  in  the  year  1855. 


1810.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  223 

least,  their  saying,  never  as  yet  has  so  much  been 
done  for  the  catholics,  seems  to  insinuate  it.  May 
the  enterprise  be  pleasing  to  God  as  it  is  to  men, 
and  benefit  the  people  and  myself.     .     .     . 

"  Yours,  etc., 

"  C.  Nerinckx." 


Truly,  the  holy  man  had  a  hard  life  of  it,  as 
will  presently  appear  from  extracts  of  the 
Sketches  of  Kentucky,*  which  Archbishop  Spald- 
ing borrowed  from  letters  of  Rev.  Badin,  pub- 
lished in  the  London  Miscellany  of  1825,  and 
further  extended  with  notes  communicated  to 
him  by  the  same  reverend  gentleman,  who  was 
still  living  ut  the  time  the  Archbishop  published 
his  book. 

"  Father  Nerinckx'  courage  was  unequaled. 
He  feared  no  difficulties,  and  was  appalled  by  no 
dangers.  Through  rain  and  storms ;  through 
snows  and  ice ;  over  roads  rendered  almost  im- 
passable by  the  mud ;  over  streams  swollen  by 
the  rains,  or  frozen  by  the  cold ;  by  day  and 
by  night,  in  winter  and  summer,  he  might  be 
seen  traversing  all  parts  of  Kentucky  in  the  dis- 
charge of  his  laborious  duties.  Far  from  shun- 
ning, he  seemed  even  to  seek  hardships  and 
dangers. 

"  He  crossed  wilderness  districts,  swam  rivers, 
slept  in  the  woods  among  the  wild  beasts ;  f  and. 


*"  Sketches  of  Kentucky,"  pg.  138-141,  et  passim. 
f  Sometimes  when  he  was  asked  by  those  at  whose  house  he 
had  arrived  in  the  morning,  "  where  he  had  slept  on  the  pre- 


224  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [1810. 

while  undergoing  all  this,  he  was  in  the  habit 
of  fasting  and  of  voluntarily  mortifying  himself 
in  many  other  ways.  His  courage  and  vigor 
seemed  to  increase  with  the  labors  and  priva- 
tions he  had  to  indure.  As  his  courage,  so 
neither  did  his  cheerfulness,  ever  abandon  him. 
He  seldom  laughed  or  even  smiled  ;  but  there 
was  withal  an  air  of  contentment  and  cheerful- 
ness about  him  which  greatly  qualified  the  na- 
tural austerity  of  his  countenance  and  manners. 
He  could,  like  the  great  Apostle,  make  himself 
"  all  to  all,  to  gain  all  to  Christ."  He  appeared 
even  more  at  home  in  the  cabin  of  the  humblest 
citizen,  or  in  the  hut  of  the  poor  negro,  than  in 
the  more  pretending  mansions  of  the  wealthy. 

"  He  was  averse  to  giving  trouble  to  others, 
especially  to  the  poor.  Often,  when  he  arrived 
at  a  house  in  the  night,  he  attended  to  his  own 
horse,  and  took  a  brief  repose  in  the  stable,  or 
in  some  out-house  ;  and  when  the  inmates  of  the 
house  arose  next  morning,  they  frequently  per- 
ceived him  already  up,  and  saying  his  office,  or 
making  his  meditation.*  He  made  it  an  in- 
variable rule  never  to  miss  an  appointment  when- 
ever it  was  at  all  possible  to  keep  it.  He  often 
arrived  at  a  distant  station  early  in  the  morn- 
ing, after  having  ridden  during  all  the  previous 
night.    On  these  occasions,  he  heard  confessions, 

viou.s  night?"  he  would  answer  cheerfully:  "With  Captain 
Dogwood,"— a  familiar  name  for  the  Cornelian  cherry  tree,  abound- 
ing in  the  woods  of  Kentucky. 

*This  often  occurred,  especially  at  the  station  on  Clear  Creek, 
Hardin  county. 


1810.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHAELES  NERINCKX.  225 

taught  catechism,  gave  instructions,  and  said 
Mass  for  the  jDeople  generally  after  noon  ;  and 
he  seldom  broke  his  fast  until  three  or  four 
o'clock  in  the  evening. 

"  In  swimming  rivers,  he  was  often  exposed  to 
great  danger.  Once,  in  going  to  visit  a  sick  per- 
son, he  came  to  a '  stream  which  his  companion 
knew  to  be  impassable.  Mr.  Nerinckx  took  the 
saddle  of  his  friend — who  refused  to  venture — 
placed  it  on  his  own,  and  then  remounting  the 
horse,  placed  himself  on  his  knees  on  the  top  of 
the  two  saddles,  and  thus  crossed  the  flood,  which 
flowed  over  his  horse's  back.  On  another  oc- 
casion, he  made  a  still  more  narrow  escape.  He 
was  swept  from  his  horse,  which  lost  its  footing 
and  was  carried  away  by  the  current ;  and  the 
rider  barely  saved  himself,  and  reached  the  other 
shore  by  clinging  firmly  to  the  horse's  tail. 

"  On  one  of  his  missionary  tours,  he  narrowly 
escaped  being  devoured  by  the  wolves,  which  then 
greatly  infested  those  portions  of  Kentucky 
which  were  not  densely  settled.  While  travel- 
ing to  visit  a  distant  station,  in  what  is  now 
Grayson  county,  but  what  was  then  almost  an 
unreclaimed  wilderness,  he  lost  his  way  in  the 
night.  It  was  the  dead  of  winter,  and  the  dark- 
ness was  so  great  that  he  could  not  hope  to  ex- 
tricate himself  from  his  painful  situation. 
Meantime,  whilst  he  was  seeking  a  sheltered 
place,  where  he  could  take  some  repose,  the  fam- 
ished wolves  scented  him,  and  came  in  hundreds, 
fiercely  howling  around  him.     With  great  pres- 


226  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [1810. 

-ence  of  mind,  he  immediately  remounted  his 
horse,  knowing  that  they  would  scarcely  attack 
him  while  on  horseback.  He  hallooed  at  the 
top  of  his  voice,  and  temporarily  frightened 
them  off;  but  soon  they  returned  to  the  charge, 
and  kept  him  at  bay  during  the  whole  night. 
Once  or  twice  they  seemed  on  the  point  of  seiz- 
ing his  horse,  and  Mr.  Nerinckx  made  the  sign 
of  the  Cross  and  prepared  himself  for  death ; 
but  a  mysterious  Providence  watched  over  him, 
and  he  escaped,  after  sitting  his  horse  the  whole 
night.*    With  the  dawn,  the  wolves  disappeared. 

"  He  had  charge  of  six  congregations,  besides 
a  much  greater  number  of  stations  scattered 
over  the  whole  extent  of  Kentucky.  Wherever 
he  could  learn  that  there  were  a  few  catholic 
settlers,  there  he  established  a  station  or  erected 
a  church.  The  labor  which  he  thus  voluntarily 
took  on  himself,  is  almost  incredible.  To  visit 
all  his  churches  and  stations  generally  required 
the  space  of  at  least  six  weeks. 

"  He  never  took  any  rest  or  recreation.  He 
seemed  always  most  happy,  when  most  busily 
engaged.  He  seldom  talked,  except  on  business, 
or  on  God,  on  virtue,  or  on  his  missionary 
duties.  On  reaching  a  church  or  station,  his 
confessional  was  usually  thronged  by  penitents 
from  the  early  dawn  until  midday.  Before  be- 
ginning to  hear  confessions  he  usually  said  some 
prayers  with  the  people,  and  then  gave  them  a 

*The  Archbishop  learned  this  adventure  from  an  aged  citizea 
■of  Grayson  county. 


1810.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  227 

solid  and  familiar  instruction  on  the  manner  of 
approaching  the  holy  tribunal.  If  he  seemed 
austere  out  of  the  confessional,  he  was  in  it  a 
most  kind,  patient,  and  tender  father.  He 
spared  no  time  nor  pains  to  instruct  his  peni- 
tents, all  of  whom,  without  one  exception,  were 
deeply  attached  to  him.  To  his  instructions, 
chiefly  in  the  confessional,  are  we  to  ascribe  the 
piety  and  regularity  of  many  among  the  living 
catholics  of  Kentucky. 

"  Grod  blessed  his  labors  with  fruits  so  abun- 
dant and  permanent  as  to  console  him  for  all 
his  toils  and  privations.  He  witnessed  a  flour- 
ishing church  growing  up  around  him,  in  what 
had  recently  been  a  wilderness,  inhabited  only 
by  tierce,  wild  beasts  and  untamable  savages. 
He  saw,  in  the  virtues  of  his  scattered  flock,  a 
revival  of  those  which  had  rendered  so  illus- 
trious the  christians  of  the  first  ages  of  the 
church.  .  .  .  The  results  of  his  labors  prove 
how  much  one  good  man,  with  the  blessing  of 
God,  can  achieve  by  his  single  efforts,  prompted 
by  the  lofty  motive  of  the  Divine  glory,  and 
directed  with  simplicity  of  heart  to  one  noble 
end. 

"  We  will  close  the  present  chapter  by  relat- 
ing one  more  incident  in  the  life  of  this  good 
missionary.  The  catholics  were  so  much  dis- 
persed that  he  was  often  called  to  a  distance  of 
fifty  and  even  a  hundred  miles,  to  visit  the  sick. 
On  one  occasion  he  was  called  to  see  a  Mr. 
Keith,    who    lived   in    Bourbon    county,    eighty 


228  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [1810. 

miles  oif.  The  messenger  arriv^ed  at  the  resi- 
dence of  Mr,  Nerinckx  early  in  the  mornino-, 
and  stated  that  he  had  left  the  sick  man  in  a 
dying  condition.  Mr.  Nerinckx  lost  not  a  mo- 
ment. At  five  o'clock  in  the  morning,  he 
mounted  his  famous  horse  '  Printer  ; '  and  after 
ridino-  the  whole  ensuino-  nio-ht,  reached  the 
house  of  Mr.  Keith  at  six  o'clock  the  next 
morning. 

"  The  poor  man  was  already  dead.  He  had 
just  breathed  his  last.  Ardently  had  he  de- 
sired the  succors  of  religion  in  his  last  struggle  ; 
repeatedly  he  had  asked,  '  whether  the  priest 
was  coming  ? '  In  his  anxiety  he  had  dragged 
himself  to  the  door  of  his  cabin,  to  direct  his 
straining  eyes,  now  almost  set  in  death,  in  the 
direction  in  which  he  expected  the  minister  of 
God  to  approach. 

"  Mr.  IVerinckx  remained  for  some  time  with 
the  afflicted  family  of  the  deceased,  comforting 
them  with  the  assurance  that  God  had  no  doubt 
mercifully  accej^ted  the  will  for  the  deed  in  the 
deceased.  He  prayed  with  them  over  his  re- 
mains, which  he  followed  to  their  last  resting- 
place.  He  took  occasion  from  the  manner  of  his 
death  to  make  a  deep  impression  in  the  minds 
and  hearts  of  the  living,  whom  he  exhorted  '  to 
be  always  ready,  for  they  knew  not  the  day  nor 
the  hour,'  when  death  might  surprise  them. 
After  thus  doing  all  the  good  he  could  accomplish, 
he  returned,  deeply  affected  by  the  scene  he  had 
witnessed." 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

1811. 

Father  Nerinckx'  bodily  strength. — His  adventure  with  Har- 
din.— Carrying  the  cross  in  Bullitt  county. — Saluting  the 
negro. — Father    Nerinckx'    simple    oratory. — His   success    in 

MAKING   converts. — ARRIVAL    OF    BlSHOP    FlAGET    IN    KENTUCKY. 

The  Episcopal  palace. 

The  powerful  constitution  and  herculean 
strength  which  enabled  the  zealous  Father  JN'er- 
inckx  to  undergo  the  unusual  trials  of  mission- 
ary life,  under  the  burden  of  which  many  a  man 
of  equal  zeal  would  have  sunk,  proved  useful  in 
more  than  one  way,  during  his  eventful  career. 
Besides  undertaking  lengthy  journeys  on  horse- 
back to  the  distant  missions  through  the  then 
uninhabited  wilds  of  Kentucky,  he  had  to  attend 
to  the  building  of  churches,  a  task  which,  in 
these  pioneer  days,  was  not  a  mere  directing  of 
the  labors  of  others,  but  actual  hard  handiwork ; 
and  Father  IN^erinckx  was  always  ready  to  do 
his  share  of  the  labor.  Many  illustrations  of 
his  bodily  strength  will  be  adduced  in  the  course 
of  this  biography.  "  He  generally  worked  bare- 
headed under  the  broiling  sun,  aiding  the  work- 
men in  cuttina:  timber,  in  clearins:  out  the  un- 

(229) 


230  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NEEINCKX.  [1811. 

dergrowth,  and  in  every  other  species  of  hard 
labor ;  and  in  removing  heavy  timber,  or,  as  it  is 
commonly  called,  rolling  logs,  he  usually  lifted 
against  two  or  three  men  of  ordinary  strength."* 

But  this  merely  natural  gift,  which,  in  po- 
lite society,  would  add  very  little  to  the  esteem 
in  which  a  priest  is  held  by  the  public,  proved 
also  very  useful  in  those  parts,  where  the  rude 
state  of  pioneer  times  made  men  less  sensible  to 
the  advantages  of  education,  and  more  easily  im- 
pressed by  physical  skill,  endurance,  and  strength 
of  body.  The  following  singular  adventure, 
which  is  well  known  to  all  the  older  catholics  of 
Kentucky,  may  serve  as  an  illustration.  We 
give  it  as  related  to  Archbishop  Spaldingf  by 
Mr.  Vincent  Gates,  the  pious  attendant  and 
companion  of  our  missionary : 

"  Father  Nerinckx  was  in  the  habit  of  rigidly 
enforcing  order  in  the  church,  during  the  cele- 
bration of  the  divine  mysteries.  Protestants 
and  persons  of  no  religion  often  attended  church, 
led  thither  chiefly  by  curiosity.  These  some- 
times did  not  conform  to  the  rules  of  propriety ; 
and  Mr.  Nerinckx,  who  was  little  swayed  by  hu- 
man respect,  was  not  slow  to  admonish  them  of 
their  faults  in  this  j^articular.  As  he  was  not 
very  well  versed  in  the  English  language,  and 
was  by  nature  rather  plain  and  frank,  his  admo- 
nitions were  not  always  well  understood  or  well 
received.     Once,  especially,  a  man  by  the  name 

■*"  Sketches  of  Kentucky,"  pg.  143. 

t  "  Sketches  of  Kentucky,"  pg.   141-143. 


ISU  ]  LIFE  OF  r.EV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  231 

of  Hardin — a  youth  of  powerful  frame  and 
strength,  and  somewhat  of  a  bully — took  great 
offense  at  something  which  Mr.  JN^erinckx  had 
said,  and  which,  it  seems,  he  had  entirely  mis- 
understood. He  openly  declared  that  he  would 
be  avenged  on  the  priest  the  first  time  that  he 
would  meet  him  alone. 

"An  opportunity  soon  occurred.  Mr.  Ner- 
inckx  was  going  to  the  church  of  St.  Charles, 
from  St.  Stephen's,  when  Hardin  waylaid  him 
on  the  road.  Springing  from  his  hiding-place, 
he  seized  the  bridle  reins  of  Mr.  Nerinckx' 
horse,  and  bade  him  stop,  '  for  that  he  intended 
to  give  him  a  sound  drubbing.'  At  the  same 
time,  he  cut  one  of  the  stirrup  leathers,  and  or- 
dered the  rider  to  dismount ;  an  order  which 
was  promptly  complied  with.  Mr.  Nerinckx  re- 
monstrated with  him ;  told  him  that  he  had 
meant  in  nowise  to  offend  or  injure  him ;  and 
that  his  profession  wholly  forbade  him  to  wrangle 
or  fight.  Hardin,  however,  persisted,  and  was 
in  the  act  of  striking  the  priest,  when  the  latter 
took  hold  of  him,  and  quietly  laid  him  on  the 
ground,  as  though  he  had  been  the  merest  child  -, 
observing  to  him,  meantime,  with  a  smile,  '  that 
he  would  neither  strike  nor  injure  him,  but  that 
he  felt  authorized  to  see  that  himself  received 
no  injury  at  his  hands.'  In  this  position  he 
held  him  motionless  on  his  back,  until  he  had 
obtained  from  him  a  promise  that  no  farther  at- 
tempt should  be  made  on  his  person. 

"After  this^rencounter,  Father  Nerinckx  quietly 


232  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [181L 

remounted  his  horse  and  proceeded  on  his  jour- 
ney ;  Hardin  as  quietly  moving  off  in  the  other 
direction.  On  arriving  at  the  cliurch,  one  of  his 
friends  asked  Mr.  Nerinckx,  'how  it  had  hap- 
pened that  his  stirrup  leather  had  been  cut?' 
He  replied  by  simply  stating  the  adventure  in  a 
few  words,  and  observing,  with  a  smile,  'that 
these  young  buckskins  could  not  handle  a  Dutch- 
man !'  After  this,  he  never  was  heard  to  speak 
of  the  aifair  ;  but  Hardin  was  wont  to  say  to  his 
friends,  '  he  had  often  thought  before,  that  he 
had  handled  men  ;  but  that  he  really  never  had 
hold  of  one  before  he  met  priest  Nerinckx,  who, 
he  verily  believed,  had  something  supernatural 
about  him.' " 

This  bodily  strength,  which  enabled  the  priest 
to  teach  manners  to  the  presumptuous  youth, 
was  also,  about  this  time,  displayed  in  a  more 
public  and  religious,  although  as  unostentatious 
a  manner,  at  the  blessing  of  the  graveyard  in 
Bullitt  county.  Father  Nerinckx  had  linished 
the  church  of  St.  John  the  Baptist,  in  that  county, 
and,  having  laid  out  a  graveyard,  resolved  to 
bless  it  with  more  than  ordinary  ceremonies. 
Pie  was  passionately  fond  of  the  dead,  and  did 
all  in  his  power  to  promote  devotion  for  the 
souls  in  purgatory,  among  his  people.  Upon 
this  particular  occasion,  he  caused  a  large  cedar 
cross,  forty  feet  high,  the  very  one  which,  to  this 
day,  yet  graces  that  sacred  spot,  to  be  made  ;  and, 
having  taken  off  his  shoos  and  stockings,  he  or- 
dered  all    tlioso  who   intended  assisting  at  the 


1811.]         LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  233 

ceremony  to  do  the  same.  He  then  shouldered 
the  precious  burden ;  and,  aided  by  twelve  men, 
barefooted  like  himself,  who  supported  the 
lower  portion  of  the  cross  and  prevented  it  from 
dragging  the  ground,  he  carried  it  a  long  dis- 
tance, praying  in  a  loud  voice  during  the  whole 
time  of  this  rather  uncommon  procession.  Old 
Mr.  Shepherd  witnessed  the  solemn  occurrence, 
during  which  many  of  the  lookers-on  were 
moved  to  tears  at  the  sight  of  the  pious  priest 
<iarrying  the  cross  like  his  Divine  Master. 

It  was  in  the  same  place  that  the  catholic 
priest  taught  some  Kentucky  youths  a  lesson, 
which  subsequent  events  must  have  recalled  for- 
cibly to  their  minds  in  their  old  age.  On  the 
road  to  St.  John's,  they  met  a  negro  who  politely 
bade  the  time  of  day  to  the  company.  Father 
Nerinckx  took  off  his  hat  and  returned  the  salu- 
tation with  much  courtesy.  Upon  his  com- 
panions deriding  his  christian  conduct,  he  made 
them  this  sensible  and  rather  stinging  reply: 
"I  do  not  want  to  be  beaten  in  politeness  by  a 
negro !  " 

Straightforward,  and  of  a  most  generous  dis- 
position, Father  Nerinckx  despised  those  mere 
forms  of  worldly  politeness  which  rather  cripple 
than  favor  the  true  expression  of  the  charitable 
feelings  of  a  christian  soul ;  his  was  the  genuine 
politeness  of  the  apostolic  man :  all  to  all,  that 
he  might  win  all  to  Christ.  Unskilled  in  the 
use  of  the   English   language,  unable  to  avail 


234  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [ISIL 

himself  of  the  nice  distinctions  of  words  and 
purity  of  diction,  which,  if  not  always  salutary, 
often  prove  agreeable  to  less  robust  christians 
than  those  the  earnest  priest  strove  to  form,  he 
always  dealt  in  plain  matter  of  fact  language. 
Learned  in  the  sacred  lore  of  Scripture  and  of 
the  holy  Fathers,  and  possessed  of  a  most  solid 
judgment,  he  never  indulged  in  fanciful  flights 
of  rhetorical  eloquence,  and,  for  that  matter, 
freely  acknowledged  that  he  could  not  do  it. 
His  sermons  were  unpretentious  catechetical  in- 
structions rendered  in  broken  English,  which 
made  him  a  rather  disagreeable  speaker;  but 
they  were  always  listened  to  with  great  atten- 
tion, and  his  words  sank  deeply  into  the  hearts 
of  his  hearers. 

Well  does  Archbishop  Spalding  remark :  * 
"  The  whole  experience  of  the  church  has  proved 
that  however  valuable  mere  human  eloquence 
may  be,  and  however  efficient  for  the  conversion 
of  men,  it  is  still  utterly  powerless  when  un- 
attended with  a  special  grace  in  the  preacher, 
which  enables  him  to  reach  the  hearts  of  his 
hearers.  The  history  of  the  church  in  all  ages 
has  proved  the  truth  of  the  Psalmist's  declara- 
tion :  '  Unless  God  build  the  house,  in  vain  doth 
he  labor  who  buildeth  it.'  'Paul  may  plant; 
Apollo  may  water ;  but  God  giveth  the  increase.' 
Men  of  the  least  reputation  for  popular  elo- 
quence have  often  effected  the  greatest  amount 
of  good.     Jealous  of  his  glory  being  shared  with 

*".Skotclies  of  Kentucky,"  pgg.  146,  147,  and  199. 


1811.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  235- 

men,  God  often  does  the  most  by  the  feeblest  in- 
struments. And  it  is  on  this  principle  that  twelve 
unlettered  fishermen  converted  the  world,  con- 
founding the  philosophers,  confuting  the  rhetori- 
cians, and  silencing  the  oracles  of  j^aganism. 

"  We  would  not  be  understood  as  intending, 
by  this  digression  to  disparage  mere  human 
learning  or  eloquence.  Both  are  highly  useful, 
and  even,  to  some  extent,  necessary,  especially 
in  our  enUgJdened  (!)  day.  But  we  have  meant  to 
imply  that  mere  human  gifts,  however  great  or 
useful,  are  only  subordinate  to  gifts  of  a  higher 
kind.  Men  are  not  to  be  converted  merely  '  by 
the  persuasive  Avords  of  human  wisdom ; '  but 
by  invoking  the  divine  blessing  through  constant 
prayer,  and  by  preaching,  with  simplicity,  and 
in  union  Avith  God,  'Christ,  and  Him  crucified.' 
This  did  the  good  Mr.  JSTerinckx ;  and  this  is 
the  true  secret  of  his  great  and  astonishing  suc- 
cess in  the  holy  ministry." 

"  Though  he  had  something  austere  in  his 
manner,  and  though  he  was  a  foreigner  and 
spoke  English  very  imperfectly,  yet  it  is  remark- 
able that  he  made,  perhaps,  more  converts 
among  protestants  than  any  other  missionary 
who  ever  labored  in  Kentucky,  if  Ave  except  Mr. 
Badin.  So  true  it  is  that  conversion  is  not  or- 
dinarily effected  by  human  eloquence  alone,  or 
by  any  other  mere  human  means,  but  by  the 
grace  and  blessing  of  God,  crowning  with  success 
the  labors  of  the  missionary.  Mr.  Nerinckx 
seldom  made  a  missionary  tour  without  receiv- 


236  LIFE  OF  REV,  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [1811. 

ing  some  one  into  the  bosom  of  the  Holy  Catho- 
lic Church.  In  one  of  these  excursions,  he 
made  no  fewer  than  thirteen  converts.  And 
those  whom  he  received  into  the  church  were 
well  grounded  in  the  faith,  and  generally  proved 
steadfast." 

No  wonder  that  Father  Badin  was  so  unwilling 
to  part  with  the  humble,  but  most  useful  priest. 
It  did  not  take  Bishop  Flaget  long  to  value  his 
labors  as  highly  as  did  the  Archbishop  and 
the  Yicar-general. 

Father  Nerinckx  had  gone  to  welcome  the 
:first  Bishop  of  Bardstown  in  the  name  of  the 
clergy  and  faithful  of  the  new  diocese,  and  met 
him  and  his  suite  in  Louisville  on  the  4th  of 
June,  1811.  He  escorted  him  through  Bards- 
t(3wn,  where  there  was  as  yet  no  church,  to  St. 
Stephen's,  where  they  were  received  by  the  Yicar- 
general  and  clergy  on  the  llth,  and  were 
greeted  by  a  large  concourse  of  people,  anxious 
to  see  their  Bishop.*  Only  a  month  later,  July 
10,  1811,  Father  Nerinckx  wrote  to  Archbishop 
Carroll  t  to  thank  him  once  more  for  his  paternal 
solicitude,  and  to  assure  him  that  he  desired  to 
continue  enjoying  his  good  counsels,  and  he 
added:  ".  .  .  Our  Right  Reverend  Bishop 
has  arrived  safe,  with  a  pious,  zealous,  and  select 
suite.  He  is  a  man,  I  think,  according  to  the 
heart  of  God,  who  will,  beyond  a  doubt,  put  all 
things   to  rights   and   strengthen   the   good  ef- 

*  Cfr.  Life  of  Bishop  Flaget,  by  Archbishop  Spalding,  pg.  71,  72. 
f  Baltimore  MSS. 


1811.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  237 

fected.  .  .  .  Till  now,  my  fate  is  uncertain^ 
and  I  do  not  know  what  to  do.  I  see  the  urgent 
necessity  of  doing  rigid  penance,  and  of  improv- 
ing my  intellect,  if  I  continue  in  the  ministry ; 
but  I  fear  very  much  that  I  will  be  prevented 
from  doing  so,  the  new  Bishop  being  unwilling 
to  consent  to  my  departure,  because  of  the  ex- 
treme penury  of  priests.  May  God  dispose  of 
me  according  to  his  exceeding  great  mercy  !  .  .  ." 

Bishop  Fhiget  would  not  hear  of  his  going ; 
and,  in  obedience  to  the  wishes  of  his  Ordinary, 
Father  Nerinckx  now  gave  up  all  idea  of  leav- 
ing Kentucky.  From  St.  Stephen's — the  pres- 
ent Loretto — where  he  resided  with  the  Bishop, 
Messrs.  Badin,  David,  and  a  few  seminarians 
till  1812,  he  continued  to  attend,  as  of  old,  to 
his  numerous  stations  ;  whilst  his  sound  and 
deep  theological  learning  was  much  prized  in 
the  conferences  which  were  held  from  time  to 
time  by  the  Bishop,  for  the  instruction  of  the 
students,  and  the  uniformity  of  ministerial  prac- 
tice on  the  missions.  Father  Badin  thus  de- 
scribes the  jKilace  which  was  at  that  time 
their  common  home,  and  the  cradle  of  catholic- 
ity in  Kentucky : 

"  Mr.  Badin  had  for  his  own  lodging  but  one 
poor  log  house  ;  and  in  consequence  of  the  ex- 
penses he  had  lately  incurred  in  building  a 
house  for  a  monastery,  which  was  burned  down 
ere  it  had  been  completed,  it  was  with  great 
difftculty  that  he  was  enabled  to  build  and  pre- 
pare, for  the  residence  of  his  illustrious  friend 


•238  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [1811. 

.and  the  ecclesiastics  who  accompanied  him,  two 
miserable  log  cabins,  sixteen  feet  square.  One 
of  the  missionaries  was  compelled  to  sleep  on  a 
mattress  in  the  garret  of  this  strange  episcopal 
palace,  which  was  whitewashed  with  lime,  and 
contained  no  other  furniture  than  a  bed,  six 
<;hairs,  two  tables,  and  a  few  planks  for  a  library. 
Here  the  Bishop  resided  for  a  year,  esteeming 
himself  happy  to  live  thus  in  the  midst  of  apos- 
tolical poverty."  * 

*  Statement  of  the  Missions  of  Kentucky,  by  Father  Badin, 
Paris,  1822;  translated  in  the  U.  S.  Catholic  Miscellany,  Decem- 
ber 1,  1824. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

1812. 

New  efforts  in  behalf  of  education. — The  little  school  on' 
Hardin's  Ckeek. — Its  first  teachers — They  retire  from  the 
world. — They  start  a  religious  community. — Election  op  the 

FIRST     superior. — A      PRIMARY    BOARDING     SCHOOL. —FaTHER    NeR- 
INCKX  FOUNDS  THE  LoRETTO  SOCIETY. 

As  we  have  seen,  Father  Nerinckx  had  al- 
ready determined,  in  1807,  upon  the  main  ob- 
jects of  the  religious  community  which  he  was 
striving  to  bring  into  existence  for  the  instruc- 
tion of  female  youth.  The  daily  increase  of 
catholics  in  Kentucky  made  him  realize  more 
and  more  the  necessity  of  providing  their  chil- 
dren with  the  solid  food  of  a  catholic  education, 
without  which  the  churches  he  had  built  would 
be  void  of  worshipers  so  soon  as  immigration 
ceased.  After  having  for  years  recommended 
the  enterprise  to  the  pious  prayers  of  priests 
and  religious  communities  at  home  and  abroad, 
and  patiently  awaited  God's  own  time  for  the 
realization  of  his  fondest  hopes,  he  was  finally 
rewarded  with  the  faintest  glimmer  of  success. 
He  welcomed  it  all  the  more  eagerly,  from  the 
fact  that  it   looked  more   like  a  forlorn  hope. 

(233) 


240  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [1812, 

Had  not  a  lonely  star  in  the  far  East,  the  shim- 
mering rays  of  which  dispelled  the  darkness  of 
ignorance  in  but  three  intellects,  been  the  sign 
of  the  world's  redemption  ? 

Mr.  James  Dent,  the  same  who,  in  1807,  had 
offered  four  hundred  acres  of  land  for  the  erec- 
tion of  a  school-building,  having  gone  on  a  visit 
to  Maryland,  returned  to  Kentucky  in  the  begin- 
ning of  1812,  accompanied  b}^  Miss  Mary  Rhodes^ 
his  cousin.  She  stayed  a  few  weeks  at  his  house, 
where  her  sister,  Miss  Nancy  Rhodes,  was  liv- 
ing; she  then  went  to  live  with  her  brother, 
Bennet  Rhodes,  on  Hardin's  Creek,  Washington 
county,  near  St.  Charles'  church.*  Plaving  been 
educated  in  a  convent.  Miss  Rhodes  took  pleas- 
ure in  consecrating  a  few  hours  every  day  to  the 
instruction  of  her  nieces,  who  were  denied  the 
advantages  of  catholic  education,  which  she  her- 
self had  enjoyed  in  her  Maryland  home. 
Pleased  with  her  first  efforts,  she  soon  desired 
to  enlarge  the  field  of  her  usefulness,  and  ap- 
plied to  Father  Nerinckx  for  leave  to  impart 
religious  instruction  and  the  first  rudiments  of 
elementary  education  to  the  little  girls  of  the 
neighborhood. 

Father  Nerinckx  gladly  granted  the  generous 
request,  and  the  school  was  started  in  a  poor, 
dilapidated  cabin,  the  abandoned  residence  of  a 

*The  historical  details  of  this  and  other  chapters  about  Lo- 
retto  are  obtained  from  the  records  of  the  Loretto  convent,  and 
reminiscences  of  the  older  members  of  the  community,  who 
were  personally  acquainted  with  the  parties  concerned. 


1812.]  LIFE  OF  EEV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  241 

former  tenant.  It  was  situated  on  a  little  emi- 
nence near  Hardin's  Creek,  about  half  a  mile 
from  Mr.  Rhodes'  residence,  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  creek,  and  half  way  between  the  latter's 
house  and  St.  Charles  church.  This  wretched 
hut  had  no  floor  but  the  bare  ground,  and  rough 
boards  formed  an  equally  poor  roof,  through 
which  rain  and  snow  poured  freely  down  on  its 
humble  inmates.  How  like  unto  the  stable  of 
Bethlehem!  Was  it  astonishing,  if  heaven 
looked  favorably  upon  such  humble  beginnings, 
and  blessed  the  disinterested  generosity  of  the 
self-sacrificing  teacher  ? 

The  school  succeeded  beyond  the  most  san- 
guine expectations  of  both  pastor  and  teacher. 
The  number  of  children  steadily  increased,  and, 
during  one  of  his  visits,  Father  Nerinckx,  who 
watched  the  new  undertaking  with  the  anxious 
care  of  a  mother,  offered  to  Miss  Rhodes,  as  an^ 
assistant  teacher  well  qualified  for  the  work, 
Miss  Christina  Stuart,  a  pious  young  lady  of  the 
neighborhood,  whose  acquaintance  Miss  Rhodes 
had  studiously  cultivated.  The  offer  was  eag- 
erly accepted,  and  a  desire  of  mutual  edification 
led  the  two  young  ladies  to  board  together  at 
Mr.  Rhodes'  house. 

But  "the  spirit  breatheth  where  it  listeth," 
and  "they  heard  its  voice,  not  knowing  whence- 
it  Cometh  or  whither  it  goeth."  A  desire  of 
greater  perfection  soon  led  them  to  retire  from 
tho  distractions  which  the  social  manners  of  the- 


242  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1812- 

Dent  family  necessarily  entailed.  Of  a  kindly 
disposition  and  in  comfortable  circumstances, 
Mr.  Dent  took  pleasure  in  entertaining  his 
friends.  The  good  breeding  and  many  accom- 
plishments of  the  young  ladies  made  his  home 
:a  center  of  attraction  for  the  neighboring  set- 
tlers, many  of  whom  deeply  felt,  in  their  new 
and  comparativety  desert  home,  the  want  of  so- 
cial amusements  which  the  more  advanced  state 
of  society  in  Maryland  had  made  them  look 
upon  as  a  necessity.  This  constant  drain  upon 
the  time  and  courtesy  of  the  young  ladies,  neces- 
sarily interfered  with  their  self-imposed  duties 
as  teachers.  It  brought  them  seriously  to  en- 
tertain the  idea  of  isolating  themselves  from 
their  relations  and  worldly  acquaintances,  to 
give  more  time  to  study  and  devotional  exercises. 
Being  piously  inclined,  they  disliked  to  associate 
day  after  day  with  such  gay  company.  A 
community  of  views  soon  ripened  into  a  tixed 
purpose  of  retiring  to  the  miserable  little  cabin 
adjoining  the  one  used  for  school  purposes,  and 
just  as  wretched,  and  to  trust  to  a  kind  Provi- 
dence for  the  necessities  of  life,  which,  they 
hoped,  the  little  remuneration  from  their 
scholars  would  enable  them  to  procure.  The 
plan  was  shortly  afterward  submitted  to  Father 
Nerinckx  for  his  approbation  ;  and  he,  seeing  in 
it  the  work  of  Divine  Providence,  who  was  tak- 
ing His  own  way  to  further  his  hidden  purpose, 
warmly   congratulated   the  young   ladies   upon 


]812.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  243 

their  noble  determination,  and  encouraged  them 
in  their  pious  undertaking. 

That  such  a  course  was  loudly  decried  by  their 
friends  need  hardly  be  told ;  "  foolish  whim,"  and 
"crazy  notion,"  were  mild  terms  by  which  to 
characterize  such,  unworldly  conduct ;  but  they 
were  as  unheeded  as  they  were  harmless.  The 
young  ladies  went ;  and  God  soon  rew^arded  the 
pious  confidence  of  his  servants  by  sending  them 
a  new  companion.  Miss  Nancy  Havern  came  to 
claim  the  happiness  of  sharing  their  privations 
and  labors,  and  she  was  received  with  open  arms. 

Up  to  this  time,  these  pious  souls  had  given 
little  thought  to  the  future,  and  they  would 
hardly  have  dared  to  dream  of  what  they  were 
now  soon  to  carry  into  effect.  But  with  the  ad- 
vent of  their  new-found  friend,  another  light 
dawned  upon  them :  might  they  not  become 
nuns  ?  And,  between  the  hope  and  the  fear  which 
alternately  swayed  their  hearts  after  this  sudden 
revelation,  they  knew  not  whether  to  accuse 
themselves  of  presumption  or  to  hail  the  thought 
with  unrestrained  delight.  Application  was 
again  made  to  the  one  whom  they  began  to  look 
upon  in  the  light  of  a  spiritual  father  and  es- 
pecial adviser,  and  his  answer  made  their  hearts 
throb  with  joy.  It  was  not  yet  the  accomplish- 
ment of  their  wishes,  but  it  was  an  implied 
possibility  of  their  being  fulfilled.  "  He  was 
happy  to  see  so  much  piety,  so  much  good  will, 
so  much  generosity,  in  the  cause  of  religion.  He 
readily  encouraged  them,  enlightened  them  by  his 


244  LIFE  OF  EEV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [1812. 

prudent  advice,  told  them  that  it  would  be  holy 
and  useful  if  they  could  but  eifect  so  great  an 
undertaking,  and  he  would  rejoice  with  them  if 
this  humble  attempt  should  succeed  according 
to  their  wishes.  But  he  also  candidly  stated  to 
them  that  they  would  most  assuredly  meet  with 
many  difficulties  and  hardships ;  they  would 
have  to  suffer  real  and  extreme  poverty  in  this 
new  settlement,  and  their  inexperience  in  the 
customs  of  religious  life  would  be  the  source  of 
many  a  wearisome  temptation.  Like  docile 
children,  they  listened  with  reverent  attention 
to  all  he  said  to  them ;  but,  so  far  from  being- 
discouraged  at  the  foretold  difficulties  and  trials, 
they  begged  most  earnestly  to  be  allowed  to  be- 
gin at  once.  They  entreated  Father  Xerinckx 
to  give  them  some  rules  to  go  by,  and  to  write 
down  the  devotions  they  should  practice  during* 
the  day.  Pleased  with  their  spirit  of  self-sacri- 
iice,  the  pious  priest  wrote  down  on  a  slip  of 
paper  a  few  directions  for  their  mode  of  life, 
and  allowed  them  to  try  it  for  some  days."* 

Father  Xerinckx  at  once  acquainted  the 
Bishop  with  the  step  that  had  been  taken  by  his 
'protegees^  and  the  zealous  prelate  gave  his  full 
approbation  to  the  work.  He  requested  Father 
iN^erinckx  to  take  them  under  his  special  guid- 
ance, and  assured  him  that  whatever  subsequent 
step  he  might,  in  his  wisdom,  see  tit  to  take,  he 
would  most  heartily  indorse  it.  A  few  days 
later,  on    his  return  from  St.  Stephen's   to  St. 

*  Personal  recollections  of  one  of  the  young  ladies. 


1812]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  245 

Charles'  cliurcli,  Father  INTerinckx  went,  as  was 
his  custom,  to  see  how  things  were  going  on, 
and  finding  that  the  pious  young  hidies  were  de- 
lighted with  their  new  mode  of  life,  he  com- 
municated to  them  the  welcome  intelligence  of 
Bishop  Flaget's  approval  of  the  undertaking, 
and  left  them  a  few  rules  to  be  observed  each 
day  of  the  week.  They  were  unable  to  restrain 
the  joyous  emotion  of  their  hearts,  and  they  en- 
treated Father  JSTerinckx  to  appoint  a  superior 
who  should  guide  them  in  their  devotions  and 
direct  more  efficiently  their  little  household  con- 
cerns. With  his  usual  prudence  and  discretion, 
he  advised  them  to  first  make  an  experiment, 
and  good-humoredly  told  them  to  fix  it  this  time 
to  their  own  liking.  Miss  Mary  Rhodes  being 
the  one  who  had  commenced  the  little  school, 
and  having  been  educated  in  a  convent  in  Mary- 
land, was  selected  as  best  able  to  guide  them 
and  manage  things  to  their  satisfaction.  He 
promised,  however,  that  so  soon  as  they  would 
be  five  or  six  in  number,  be  would  allow  them 
to  proceed  to  a  regular  election,  provided  the 
success  of  the  school  warranted  the  expenses 
which  the  sustenance  of  such  a  number  would 
necessarily  entail  upon  them,  notwithstanding 
their  poor  and  comparatively  inexpensive  life. 
They  had  not  long  to  wait. 

Miss  Nellie  Morgan,  an  acquaintance  of  theirs, 
was  teaching  a  small  number  of  children  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Holy  Mary's  church.  Being 
the  only  child  of  a  widowed  mother,  she  used  to 


246  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [1812. 

teach  in  her  house  ;  and,  whenever  practicable, 
would  avail  herself  of  a  holiday  to  go  and  visit 
her  friends.  Having  considerable  experience  as 
a  teacher,  she  took  great  interest  in  their  ven- 
ture, and,  on  her  return  home,  could  not  hel]3  re- 
joicing with  Miss  Nancy  Rhodes  over  the  good 
success  of  her  sister  and  companions.  Their  in- 
terest in  the  welfare  of  the  new  institution  soon 
ripened  into  a  desire  to  contribute  personally  to 
its  success,  and  with  the  permission  of  Father 
T^erinckx  they  joined  the  fortunate  three.  Miss 
Morgan's  buoyancy  of  character  and  pleasant 
demeanor  was  a  much  desired  quality  in  a  com- 
munity, where  extreme  poverty  made  it  at  times 
difficult  to  be  cheerful  and  without  apprehension 
for  the  future.  She  was,  moreover,  very  much 
liked  as  a  teacher ;  was  easy,  fluent,  and  inter- 
estino'  in  conversation.  Although  without  what 
we  call  a  brilliant  education,  she  had  a  ready 
capacity  for  getting  children  interested,  and  im- 
parting to  them  without  effort,  and  in  a  pleasing- 
way,  the  rudimentary  knowledge  which  so  many 
possess  without  being  able  to  communicate  it  to 
others.  She  ever  maintained  good  order  among 
the  children,  and  had  such  winning  ways  as  to 
be  their  idol.  jVo  wonder  if  such  an  acquisition 
was  welcomed  by  the  community,  especially  so 
when  they  learned  that  ]^ancy  Rhodes,  a  young 
lad}''  of  solid  virtue,  and  a  sister  to  the  found- 
ress, accompanied  her.  Above  all,  they  were 
now  five  in  number,  and  the  longed-for  time  to 
become  nuns  had  arrived. 


181:?.]         LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  24T 

They  applied  without  delay  to  Father  Ner- 
inckx  for  the  appointment  of  a  superior,  whom 
they  should  look  to  as  a  mother,  and  he  told 
them  to  go  to  their  cabin  and  consult  among 
themselves.  The  deliberations  did  not  last  long. 
In  their  holy  simplicity  "they  sat  down  like 
children  on  the  dirt  floor,"  and  the  oldest  voting- 
first,  they  all  agreed  upon  Nancy  Rhodes,  and 
immediately  returned  to  the  Director  to  inform 
him  of  their  choice.  He  remarked :  "  You  have 
chosen  the  youngest  one  among  you  ;  "  but  they 
replied  unanimously:  "If  she  is  the  youngest^ 
she  is  also  the  most  virtuous." 

Miss  Nancy  Rhodes,  now  first  Superior^ 
bought  the  small  tract  of  land,  on  which  the 
cabins  were  built,  for  $75,  and  gave  her  negro, 
who  was  sold  for  $450.  Under  Father  Ner- 
inckx'  energetic  management  of  afi*airs,  the  sis- 
ters immediately  set  to  work  making  the  neces- 
sary improvements  for  the  accommodation  of 
their  increasing  number.  They  replaced  and  ar- 
ranged the  boards  on  the  roof  as  well  as  they 
could,  put  boards  across  the  upper  beams  or 
joists,  forming  a  small  attic,  which  they  used  as 
dormitory ;  and  they  fixed  up  another  part  of 
the  cabin  for  a  kitchen,  which  was  also  their  re- 
fectory. One  table  was  made  of  some  boards 
nailed  to  a  stump  which  had  been  left  standing 
in  the  middle  of  the  cabin  by  the  former  tenants,, 
probably  for  a  similar  use ;  this  was  the  sis- 
ters' table.  Another,  for  the  pupils,  consisted  of 
a  long  slab,  or  more  properly  a  puncheon  with 


248  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [ISli 

two  tough  legs  under  each  end  of  it.  They  then 
inclosed  a  little  yard  around  the  buildings,  and 
erected  in  it  a  small  fabric,  somewhat  like  a  pen, 
covered  with  old  boards,  that  served  for  a  meat- 
house,  and  a  similar  one  for  a  hen-house. 
Scarcely  had  these  improvements  been  made, 
when  a  sixth  young  lady,  Miss  Sally  Havern,  a 
sister  to  Nancy  Havern,  of  Madison  county, 
came  to  share  their  labors.  This  additional 
help  was  most  opportune.  People  of  Holy 
Mary's  congregation,  desirous  of  having  their 
children  share  in  the  benetits  of  the  catholic  edu- 
cation imparted  to  those  of  St.  Charles,  now  ap- 
plied to  the  sisters  to  have  them  received  as 
boarders  among  them.  Having  obtained  a  favor- 
able reply,  they  sent  the  good  news  to  friends  at 
a  greater  distance,  who  hastened  to  forward 
their  girls  to  enjoy  the  same  j^rivilege.  The 
slab  table  did  very  well  for  their  meals  ;  but 
where  were  they  to  sleep  ?  "  Their  beds  were  to 
go  on  the  high  shelf ^  as  we  sometimes  called  it. 
At  night,  they  were  spread  on  the  floor ;  and  in 
the  morning  were  placed  one  on  top  of  the 
other  in  the  most  convenient  part  of  the  room, 
and  they  remained  so  till  night."* 

The  new  teachers  were  very  happy  in  the 
midst  of  all  their  poverty.  Whenever  their 
pious  founder  would  come  to  visit  them,  they 
clustered  around  him  for  lessons  and  information 
concerning  the  duties  of  their  new  state  of  life. 
He  sometimes  gave  them  regular  instructions, 

*  Personal  recollections  of  one  of  them. 


1812.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  249 

but  oftener  conversed  with  them,  answering 
their  numerous  inquiries.  Viewing  the  infancy 
of  his  little  community,  and  the  inexperience  of 
its  members  in  religious  life,  he  one  day  re- 
marked to  the  young  ladies,  that  it  might 
facilitate  their  pious  object,  if  he  invited  some 
nuns  from  Europe  to  teach  and  train  them  in 
the  duties  of  a  conventual  life.  To  this  they  all 
frankly  objected,  saying  they  preferred  to  be  in- 
structed and  guided  by  him.  Upon  mature  re- 
ilection,  considering  that,  left  to  themselves, 
they  would  be  apt  to  agree  better,  and  to  suffer 
more  cheerfully  the  many  trials  in  store  for 
them,  he  yielded  the  point.  Before  deciding 
<any  thing  further,  however,  Father  N'erinckx,  al- 
ways diffident  of  himself  and  desirous  of  being 
guided  only  by  the  holy  will  of  God,  the  ex- 
pression of  which  he  always  found  in  the  wishes 
of  his  superiors,  consulted  Bishop  Flaget.  The 
Prelate  approved  of  it  all,  and  insisted  upon  his 
shaping  and  framing  the  new  foundation  with- 
out any  foreign  element,  according  to  his  own 
thouaiits  of  what  the  Institute  should  be. 

Father  JN'erinckx  now  called  his  little  com- 
munity together.  Upon  their  expressing  anew 
their  ardent  wish  of  organizing  themselves  into 
a  religious  congregation,  he  proceeded  to  unfold 
to  them  the  plan  which,  during  six  years,  he 
had  fostered  in  his  heart,  and  which  was  now 
reaching  its  happy,  though  humble  realization. 
He  imparted  to  them  the  Bishop's  full  approval 
of  their  desires,  adding   that  they  might    now 


250  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [1812. 

consider  themselves  Postulants^  preparing,  by 
their  own  free  choice,  to  become  nuns  of  their 
own  new  order.  He  exhorted  them  to  have 
great  confidence  in  Providence,  loho  never  for- 
sakes those  who  piously  trust  in  Him,  and  stated 
that  as  Religious  they  should  have  for  their 
characteristic  name :  The  Friends  of  Mary 
AT  THE  Foot  of  the  Cross.  He  then  read  to 
them  the  following  instructions  : 

In  their  silent  hours,  in  their  labors  and  their 
devotions,  the  members  of  the  community  shall 
try  to  keep  their  minds  in  a  state  of  contempla- 
tion on  the  sufferings  of  Jesus,  and  the  sorrows 
of  Mary,  His  Blessed  Mother.  The  grand  ob- 
ject of  the  Society  will  be  "  the  glory  of  God, 
the  sanctification  of  their  own  souls,  and  the 
salvation  of  their  neighbors,  by  educating  and 
instructing  females."  These  three  intentions 
are  to  be,  in  all  cases,  the  leading  motives  in  all 
their  labors,  teachings,  mortifications,  and  meri- 
torious works.  They  shall  call  each  other  Sister, 
and  by  name.  A  religious  dress  or  uniform 
shall  be  adopted,  and  its  colors,  form,  and  qual- 
ity determined  upon ;  for  the  present,  owing 
to  their  poverty,  the  sisters  can  only  wear  what- 
ever dresses  they  already  have.  Silence  shall 
be  kept  all  day,  except  during  the  recreation  fol- 
lowing  the  three  meals,  and  prayers  shall  bo 
said  in  common  at  fixed  times  during  the  day. 
He  also  exhorted  them  to  great  vigilance  in  tho 
tuition  and  government  of  their  pupils,  a  great 
zeal  in  teaching   them  their  prayers  and  cate- 


1812.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  251 

chism,  and  a  motherly  care  in  forming  their 
manners  and  morals.  Every  evening  the  chil- 
dren were  to  walk  in  procession  to  St.  Charles' 
graveyard,  distant  from  their  cabins  about  a 
quarter  of  a  mile,  there  to  pray  for  the  dead  ;  on 
the  way  thither  prayers  were  recited  aloud  by 
teachers  and  pupils  for  the  relief  of  the  souls  in 
purgatory,  and  the  return  walk  was  a  most 
healthy  bodily  exercise  and  amusing  recreation. 
Sacred  canticles  and  hymns  were  to  be  taught 
to  the  children  as  a  most  interesting  diversion 
of  mind,  and  Miss  Nellie  Morgan  having  been 
for  years  an  assiduous  frequenter  of  singing 
schools,  and  a  member  of  the  church  choir,  soon 
succeeded  in  making  these  exercises  both  agree- 
able and  instructive. 

The  children  soon  learned  to  like  the  well 
regulated  life  of  this  beggarly  little  paradise ; 
the  sisters  made  rapid  strides  in  the  science  of 
the  saints.  Nothing  would  have  been  want- 
ing to  their  happiness,  had  Father  Nerinckx 
been  living  somewhere  near  them,  where  they 
could  hear  Mass  daily,  and  enjoy  more  fre- 
quently the  benefits  of  his  priestly  ministrations. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

1812-1813. 
Churches  op  the   Long   Lick  and   Casey   Creek. — Father  Ner- 

INCKX   REMOVES   TO   St.    ChaRLES. — FiRST   TAKING   OF    THE    VEIL    AT 

Loretto. — Black  dye  and  chemical  experiments. — First  regu- 
lar ELECTION  OF  A  DeAR  MoTHER.— FiRST  RULES  AND  THEIR  AU- 
THOR.— Building  a  new  convent  and  residence. 

Up  to  this  time,  Father  Nerinckx  had  been 
living  with  the  Bishop  and  Father  Badin  at  St. 
Stephen's,  whence  he  regularly  attended  his  many 
missionary  stations,  and  superintended  the  erec- 
tion of  new  ones.  In  1812,  he  built  St.  Anthonifs, 
on  the  Long  Lick,  Breckinridge  county;  the 
same  year,  he  began  the  erection  of  St.  Bernard's 
church  on  Casey  creek.  The  first  catholic  set- 
tler of  Casey  county  was  John  Wethington, 
senior,  who  came  to  Kentucky  from  Maryland 
in  1798.  He  first  located  on  Cartwright's 
Creek,  near  St.  Ann's  church.  In  1802,  he, 
with  four  families  in  addition  to  his  own,  named 
respectively  Wheatly,  Miles,  Clements,  and 
Speaker,  moved  to  Casey  county,  of  which  they 
were  the  first  catholic  settlers. 

In  going  back  and  forth  to  St.  Charles,  Father 
Nerinckx   never  failed  to  visit   the  school,   in- 

(252) 


1812-13.]    LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  253 

stnicting  and  questioning  the  children,  encourag- 
ing the  teachers,  or  giving  them  such  directions 
as  circumstances  suggested.  But  as  the  work 
was  growing  in  his  hands,  and  assuming  an  im- 
portance which  his  own  estimate  of  its  useful- 
ness did  not  allow  him  to  underrate,  he  now 
fully  realized  the  necessity  of  living  nearer  to 
the  school  and  residence  of  the  sisters,  whose 
spiritual  training  and  progress  in  religious  per- 
fection the  Bishop  had  intrusted  to  his  vigilance 
and  care.  He  therefore,  with  the  consent  of 
Monseigneur  Flaget,  removed  to  St.  Charles, 
and  took  up  his  residence  in  the  vestry  room, 
built  in  the  rear  of  the  church.  Father  Nerinckx 
lived  there  for  several  months,  nearly  half  a 
mile  away  from  the  school  and  from  the  near- 
est neighbor.  The  crosses  which  adorned  the 
last  earthly  homes  of  the  dead,  were  the  only  ob-. 
jects  which  recalled  the  living  in  his  voluntary 
seclusion.  None  disturbed  his  solitude,  save 
a  poor  old  neighboring  woman,  who,  taking  her 
delight  in  serving  the  minister  of  God,  as  Martha 
served  our  Lord,  prepared  his  meals  in  her  own 
cottage,  and  carried  them  over  to  him  whenever 
he  was  at  home. 

The  school  being  of  more  easy  access  than  the 
church,  to  the  few  who  were  able  to  assist  at  the 
Holy  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass  on  week-days,  Father 
Nerinckx  gave  the  necessary  directions  to  the 
sisters  for  fitting  up  the  best  of  their  apart- 
ments as  a  temporary  chapel.  He  himself 
erected  in  it  a  suitable  altar  for  the  celebration 


254  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1812- 

of  the  holy  mysteries,  and  adorned  it  with  a 
tine  statue  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  which  he  had 
brought  over  from  Belgium,  and  had  kept  in  his 
room  at  St.  Stephen's  ever  since.  When  not 
abroad  on  the  mission,  he  frequently,  during  the 
week,  walked  over,  from  his  lonely  residence  at 
St.  Charles,  in  the  early  morning,  and  said  Mass 
in  the  poor  little  cabin,  to  the  great  joy  of  its 
inmates. 

All  these  doings  necessarily  awakened  the  in- 
terest of  the  public  in  the  new  establishment. 
In  order  to  satisfy  the  curiosity  of  the  people, 
as  well  as  to  prevent  unnecessary  excitement, 
and  forego  idle  comments.  Father  Nerinckx  an- 
nounced to  his  congregation  the  fact  of  the 
foundation  of  a  convent  in  their  midst,  taking- 
care  to  explain  to  them  its  objects,  and  the  good 
which  was  to  result  from  it  to  the  country  at 
large.  This  he  did  a  short  time  previous  to  the 
day  appointed  for  the  taking  of  the  veil  by  the 
three  first  postulants — Mary  Rhodes,  Christina 
Stuart,  and  Nancy  Havern. 

On  the  festival  day,  April  25,  1812,  a  numer- 
ous crowd  assembled  at  St.  Charles  to  witness 
this  to  them  new  ceremony,  the  first  of  the  kind 
ever  performed  in  the  Western  country.  Pre- 
ceded by  the  children,  and  surrounded  by  their 
companions,  the  three  postulants  walked  in  pro- 
cession from  the  school  to  the  church.  There,  at 
the  foot  of  the  altar,  they  made  before  Father 
Nerinckx,  and  in  the  presence  of  the  whole  con- 
gregation, their  solemn  promise  to  renounce  the 


1813.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  255 

world  and  its  maxims,  and  to  persevere  in  the 
choice  of  life  they  had  made.  A  uniform  veil 
of  such  material  as  could  be  had  at  the  time,  of 
size  and  form  like  the  one  used  ever  since,  was 
ready  at  hand;  and  Father  Nerinckx,  having 
blessed  it  with  the  prayers  of  the  church,  spread 
it  over  the  head  of  each  of  the  postulants.  It 
hung  loosely  over  the  shoulders,  was  of  very 
poor  material,  and  of  black  color.  The  cere- 
mony, and  Mass  which  followed,  being  over.  Sis- 
ters Mary,  Christina,  and  Nancy,  with  their  com- 
panions and  pupils,  returned  in  silence  to  their 
quiet  little  cabin  home. 

On  the  same  same  day,  the  two  aspirants, 
Misses  Ann  Rhodes  and  Sallie  Havern,  were, 
with  the  permission  of  Father  Nerinckx  and  the 
consent  of  the  new  novices,  admitted  as  postu- 
lants. Miss  Nellie  Morgan,  who,  although  re- 
ceived, had  been  unable  to  dismiss  her  school 
until  the  term  would  be  up,  was  ready  by  the 
29th  of  June  following. 

With  what  loving  care  did  not  these  pious 
souls  set  about  providing  for  the  religious  uni- 
form which  extreme  poverty  prevented  them 
from  assuming  on  this  blessed  day !  Forced  to 
wear  the  colored  garments  which  they  made  use 
of  in  the  world,  they  went  immediately  to  work 
devising  means  to  procure  a  dye  which  might 
yield  the  requisite  black  color  prescribed  by  the 
rule.  Poverty  is  so  ingenious  when  assisted  by 
a  true  love  of  God  ;  misery  so  inventive  in  a 
good  cause  when  spurred  on  by  an  indomitable 


256  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1812- 

will  to  a  desired  end !  A  first  attempt  with  oak 
l^ark  stripped  from  trees  of  the  adjoining  woods, 
was  very  unsatisfactory ;  a  rusty  red-brown  gives 
any  thing  but  an  attractive  look  to  the  gar- 
ments, let  alone  the  desirability  of  a  grave 
color  for  the  apparel  of  nuns.  The  addition  of 
copperas  to  the  extract  of  oak  bark  proved  more 
creditable  to  their  skill  in  the  dyers'  art,  and 
made  a  jet  black,  if  it  did  not  prove  a  durable 
coloring  mixture.  The  homespun  goods  for 
habits  and  veils  likely  went  through  the  black- 
ening process  oftener  than  the  poor  sisters  cared 
to  tell  to  the  new-comers,  but  they  were  accord- 
ing to  rule,  and  the  holy  souls  were  happy. 

Anxious  to  have  a  regularl}^  constituted  con- 
ventual home,  and  the  two  postulants  having  ex- 
pressed a  wish  to  be  more  intimately  associated 
with  their  sisters,  they  soon  begged  of  Father 
Xerinckx  to  give  the  veil  to  Ann  Rhodes  and 
Sarah  Havern,  and  admit  Ellen  Morgan  as  a 
postulant.  The  request  was  acceded  to,  and  the 
public  announcement  of  a  ceremony  similar  to 
the  first  one  again  brought  to  St.  Charles  church 
a  large  number  of  curious  spectators,  all  the 
more  eager  to  witness  the  edifying  sj^ectacle 
from  the  fact  that  the  young  ladies  had  lived  so 
long  in  their  midst.  Sisters  Ann  and  Sarah  re- 
ceived the  veil  from  the  hands  of  their  spiritual 
director,  on  the  feast  of  Saints  Peter  and  Paul, 
June  29,  1812 ;  and  Miss  Morgan,  admitted  as  a 
postulant  the  same  day,  subsequently  became  a 
jiovice  on  August  12tli  of  the  same  year,  being 


]S13.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  257 

named  after  the  Saint  whose  feast  the   church 
celebrates  on  that  day,  Sister  Clare. 

On  the  very  day  of  the  ceremony,  June  29th, 
Father  Nerinckx  paid  the  fervent  novices  an  of- 
ficial visit  in  their  happy  solitude,  and,  as 
Spiritual  Director  representing  the  Bishop, 
called  on  them  for  the  regular  election  of  a  Su- 
perior. This  time,  he  himself  presided,  and  a 
unanimous  vote  having  been  cast  for  Sister  Ann 
Rhodes,  he  then  and  there  constituted  her  Su- 
perior of  the  Novices  and  of  the  Society  of  the 
Friends  of  Mary  at  the  Foot  of  the  Cross,  under 
the  title  of  iJear  Mother.  He  also  gave  them  a 
copy  of  the  following  short  rules  to  be  observed 
in  community  life,  which  are  so  simple  and 
withal  so  thoroughly  imbued  with  his  spirit, 
that  we  can  not  refrain  from  inserting  them 
here.  The  reader  will  j^ardon  us  all  the  more 
readily  for  giving  them  entire,  as  they  constitute 
the  essence  and  foundation  of  the  subsequently 
approved  rule  of  the  Loretto  Society : 

"  Whereas,  the  ever  Blessed  Virgin  Mary  is 
the  Universal  and  Heavenly  Mother  of  this  so- 
ciety, the  members  thereof  are  called  Sisters. 
The  Superior  of  the  whole  society  goes  by  the 
name  of  Dear  Mother  (or  Mother  Superior)  ;  the 
Superior  of  each  house  shall  be  styled  Mother 
N . 

"  The  dress  must  be  black  and  full  every  way, 
having  nothing  of  a  novel  or  fashionable  appear- 
ance.    The  head-dress  will  be  a  black  veil,  suf- 


258  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1812- 

iiciently  large  to  hide  the  shape ;  a  simple  bonnet 
is  allowed  when  abroad  or  in  the  rain.  The  sis- 
ters wear  a  leathern  girdle,  which,  with  the 
.scapular,  must  be  blessed  on  the  day  of  taking 
the  habit.  A  cloak  or  choir-cape  is  allowable 
for  Winter  use  when  in  the  chapel,  and  else- 
where, if  necessary,  but  with  the  leave  of  the 
.Superior.  Straw  beds  to  sleep  on,  with  becom- 
ing covers. 

^^  Meals. — The  refection  will  be  according  to 
the  means  of  the  house,  within  the  bounds  of 
poverty,  and  free  from  all  that  flatters  sensuality, 
or  mere  appetite ;  the  sisters  being  mindful  that 
a  pampered  body  is  one  of  the  greatest  enemies 
•of  spiritual  life. 

"  Fasts. — No  fasting  days  besides  the  general 
-ones  of  the  whole  Church,  except  the  Friday  of 
the  Seven  Sorrows,  in  Passion  Week,  and  Good 
Friday,  when  the  sisters  will  fast  on  bread  and 
ivater. 

"  Vigils. — Every  Thursday  night  will  be  a 
T"igil,  during  which  every  one  has  to  adore  the 
Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus  in  the  Blessed  Sacra- 
ment, for  one  hour.  It  begins,  after  night  pray- 
ers, with  the  song,  Jesus,  the  only  thought,  etc., 
and  ends  with  the  prayers  of  the  next  morning. 

^^  Silence. — Silence  is  kept  all  day,  and  every 
day  of  the  week,  except  during  the  hour  of  re- 
creation from  after  dinner  till  half-past  one.  No 
recreation  in  Lent,  and  more  complete  silence  in 
Holy  Week,  and  in  the  octave  before  the  As- 
.sumption ;  also,  on  every  fasting  day  of  obliga- 


1813]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  259 

tion  during  the  year,  and  on  days  of  abstinence. 
On  those  days,  catechism  instead  of  recreation, 
so  as  to  leave  none  not  fully  informed  of  re- 
ligious and  holy  science. 

"Although  the  sisters  are  to, love  silence  and 
retirement,  still,  their  countenance  and  deport- 
ment ought  to  be  modestly  cheerful  and  becom- 
ingly affable  when  circumstances  require,  so  that 
their  retirement  and  silence,  speech,  counte- 
nance, and  behavior  may  be  equally  edifying 
without  any  mixture  of  worldly  levity.  They 
will  be  taught  the  rules  of  religious  politeness, 
and  the}^  are  to  be  strict  in  keeping  them  among 
themselves,  as  well  as  before  strangers.  When 
they  meet,  they  should  salute  each  other  by  a 
slight  inclination  of  the  head,  considering  in  the 
l^erson  of  one  another  the  quality  of  a  Friend  of 
Mary,  and  greeting  at  the  same  time  their  Angel 
Guardian,  and  in  the  person  of  their  Sui^erior, 
Jesus  and  Mary." 

jN'or  was  the  holy  man  satisfied  with  prescrib- 
ing rules  to  others  ;  he  was  the  first  one  to  prac- 
tice them.  His  mortified  life  made  a  lasting- 
impression  even  on  children,  as  ap^^ears  from 
the  following  account  given  of  him  by  an  eye- 
witness, at  the  time,  a  fourteen  year  old  school  girl 
at  Loretto  :  "  Fcither  Xerinckx'  clothincr  was  of 
the  poorest  kind,  made  of  coarse  hom.espun  wool 
-or  cotton.  His  diet  also  was  very*  scant  and 
poor ;  indeed,  he  lived  a  most  austere  and  morti- 
fied life.  He  was  most  vigilant  in  his  endeavors 
to  cultivate  and  form  the  minds  and  hearts  of 


260  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1812- 

the  sisters,  who  were  as  yet  inexperienced  and 
unacquainted  with  a  life  of  seclusion  from  the 
world.  This  he  did  by  his  instructions,  direc- 
tions, admonitions,  and  corrections.  His  words 
were  few,  earnest,  and  to  the  purpose,  and  ever 
sank  deep  into  the  hearts  of  his  hearers.  Often- 
times have  I  heard  the  sisters  say,  at  the  close 
of  his  instructions,  that  they  felt  a  new  courage 
and  zeal  to  brave  every  obstacle  in  their  hard 
and  laborious  life,  and  to  do  all  in  their  power 
to  become  worthy  Friends  of  Mary  at  the  Foot 
of  the  Cross.  Much  more  could  be  said  of  our 
dear  and  cherished  Father  and  Founder,  but  I 
must  leave  it  to  some  one  more  capable  of  dis- 
charging this  pleasant  duty." 

Father  Xerinckx  now  called  upon  St.  Charles 
congregation  for  assistance  in  the  good  work.  It 
had  become,  not  only  advisable,  but  strictly 
necessary,  to  erect  more  suitable  buildings. 
Untiring  in  his  efforts  for  the  temporal  as  well 
as  for  the  spiritual  welfare  of  his  little  commu- 
nity, which  was  in  the  most  destitute  circum- 
stances, he  started  a  subscription  that  realized 
a  few  hundred  dollars,  mostly  in  trade,  and  he 
requested  those  who  could  do  no  better,  to  assist 
in  getting  out  logs  for  the  erection  of  a  new  con- 
vent. On  that  same  memorable  day,  June  29, 
1812,  the  first  log  was  cut ;  and  notwithstanding 
the  greatest  difficulties  and  hardships,  the  com- 
mon share  of  every  pious  undertaking,  the  work 
progressed  most  satisfactorily.  The  trees  around 
the  two  little  cabins  were  felled  and  hewed  for 


1813.]         LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINX'KX.  261 

lioiise-logs,  thus,  at  the  same  time,  clearing  the 
ground  on  which  the  two  rows  of  buiklings  were 
to  be  erected,  and  leaving  between  them  an  ex- 
tensive square  yard.  The  sisters  themselves 
subsequently  cleared  this  yard  of  stumps  by 
chipping  them  away,  and  burning  them  down 
into  the  ground.  Father  IS'erinckx  made  the 
plan  of  the  buildings,  and  staked  out  the  place 
where  each  one  was  to  be  erected.*  IN^or  did  he 
spare  his  strength.  Many  a  log  which  the  united 
efforts  of  three  men  could  not  move,  was  lifted 
by  his  powerful  arms  and  thrown  out  of  the  way. 
He  labored  with  his  own  hands,  and  put  his 
shoulder  to  the  timbers  when  they  were  raised 
up.  The  foundation  timbers  or  sills  having  .been 
placed  in  position,  stone,  hauled  from  Hardin's 
Creek,  was  built  up  under  them  as  support  or 
underpinning,  and  afterward  the  crevices  were 
tilled  in  with  mud  and  straw.  Through  rever- 
ence for  the  One  who  was  to  dwell  therein,  the 
logs  intended  for  the  wall  of  the  chapel  and 
house  connected  with  it  were  hewed.  The  dif- 
ferent buildings  were  erected  at  a  small  distance 
from  each  other,  forming  two  rows  of  houses  on 
two  opposite  sides  of  the  square  yard.     The  first 

*Our  readers  will  excuse  this  lengthy  and  detailed  account 
of  the  building.  Every  circumstance  of  its  erection  is  lovingly 
treasured  in  the  memory  of  the  Missionary's  spiritual  children, 
and  it  is  of  interest  to  catholics  because  relating  to  the  founda- 
tion of  ih.e  first  convent  in  the  West.  Whilst  in  Europe,  in  1816, 
Father  Nerinckx  had  a  print  of  the  new  establishment  en- 
graved. We  regret  our  inability  to  reproduce  this  very  rare  and. 
interesting  relic  of  Kentucky's  early  hisory. 


262  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.        [1812- 

house  to  the  right  of  the  entrance  to  the  yard 
was  the  school,  and  the  one  opposite  in  the  left- 
hand  row  of  houses  was  Father  Nerinckx'  dwell- 
ing. Like  the  school,  it  was  a  double  cabin  of 
one  story  with  its  wooden  chimney  outside ;  the 
space  between  the  rooms  formed  a  little  entry 
protected  by  weather-boarding.  He  built  most 
of  his  own  dwelling-house  himself;  and  the  en- 
tire work  done  on  it  by  others,  only  cost  him  six 
dollars  and  fifty  cents ! 

His  kitchen,  the  second  building  in  the  left- 
hand  row,  being  smaller,  was  soon  finished  ;  and 
his  old  cook,  who  was  living  in  the  neighbor- 
hood, came  to  take  possession  of  it,  continuing- 
to  carry  the  priest's  meals  to  St.  Charles  sacristy, 
where  he  was  still  living.  The  poor  woman  also 
made  herself  very  useful  to  the  sisters,  carrying 
their  messages,  and  doing  their  errands  to  the 
neighbors,  when  necessary.  Whenever  home, 
Father  Nerinckx  came  over  and  assisted  at  the 
building,  lifting  and  raising  logs,  preparing  mor- 
tar, and  plastering  the  walls  in  the  very  primi- 
tive fashion  of  the  day,  viz.,  filling  up  the  empty 
spaces  between  the  logs  with  handfuls  of  clay 
mortar,  which  displayed  for  years  afterward  the 
imprint  of  his  fingers.  Having  finished  his  own 
house,  he  left  his  sacristy  residence  at  St. 
Charles,  and  moved  to  Loretto.  One  room  of 
this  house  served  him  for  sitting-room,  study,  bed- 
room, and  refectory ;  the  other  one  being  re- 
served for  the  accommodation  of  the  Bishop  or 
of  any  priest  who  might  visit  him. 


1813.]         LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  263 

This  was  the  unpretending  palace  of  Father 
Nerinckx,  whom  popular  instinct,  which  is 
scarcely  ever  at  fault,  spoke  of  as  "  the  saintly 
priest,"  and  it  was  his  home  for  the  last  twelve 
years  of  his  life. 

The  building  next  to  the  school,  on  the  right- 
hand  side  of  the  entrance  to  the  grounds,  was  the 
church  and  convent.  It  was  two  stories  high, 
and  consisted  of  two  square  cabins  with  upper 
rooms;  the  space  between  the  cabins  was 
weather-boarded  in,  and  it  thus  formed  a  rather 
neat  looking  chapel.  When  finished,  it  was 
blessed,  and  received  the  name  of  Little  Loretto, 
in  honor  of  Our  Lady  of  Loretto,  in  Italy,  for 
whom  Father  Nerinckx  had  a  most  tender  devo- 
tion. The  two  rooms  at  the  sides  of  the  chapel 
were  intended  for  the  use  of  the  community,  but 
they  were  not  finished  till  about  two  years  later. 

The  school-house  was  soon  occupied  by  the 
boarders  and  day-scholars.  A  similar  double 
cabin  built  next  to  the  convent  was  used  for 
kitchen  and  refectory,  and  the  church  not  being 
completed  at  the  time,  the  same  room  was  also 
used  for  dormitory,  and  the  second  one  fitted  up 
as  an  oratory.  The  altar  and  statue  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin  were  transferred  to  it,  and  Mass 
was  said  in  it  by  the  Director,  whenever  home 
from  missionary  duty.  Thither  also  sisters  and 
children  repaired  for  their  daily  devotions.  The 
building  fronting  this  one  in  the  left-hand  row, 
and  like  it  in  all  respects,  was  reserved  for  work- 


264  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.    [1812-13. 

room,  and  was  used,  as  necessity  required,  for 
guests'  room,  and  for  infirmary. 

Father  Nerinckx  now  inclosed  the  buildings 
and  yard  with  a  rail  fence,  thus  dividing  them 
from  the  garden  that  extended  to  the  summit  of 
the  hill,  the  opposite  portion  of  which  stretched 
to  the  brink  of  the  creek,  and  its  declivity  was 
utilized  as  an  orchard,  which  the  holy  priest  set 
out  with  his  own  hands.  The  large  square  yard 
he  leveled  down,  and  sowed  in  blue  grass,  thus 
giving  a  neat  and  pleasant  appearance  to  the 
whole.  Finally,  at  the  outer  side  of  the  church,  he 
paled  in  a  small  plat  of  ground  which  was  to 
serve  as  a  graveyard  for  the  sisters,  and  in  the 
middle  of  it  he  planted  a  large  square  cross  sur- 
rounded by  an  evergreen  arbor  and  with  shrubs, 
trees,  and  flowers.  He  now  tore  down  the  two 
old  cabins,  and  with  the  serviceable  lumber 
built  a  small  double  cabin  at  the  further  end  of 
the  yard,  which  was  used  for  meat-house ;  later, 
it  became  the  home  of  an  old  Mr.  Gates,  of 
whom  we  shall  have  occasion  to  speak  hereafter. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

1812-1813. 

Bishop  Flaget  visits  Loretto. — New  difficulties. — Death  of 
Mother  Ann  Rhodes. — Her  burial:  self-denial  in  death. — 
Father  Nerin(;kx'  tribute  to  her  memory. — Dear  Mother 
Mary  Rhodes. — Practicing  holf  poverty. — Fortunate  "old 
maids!" 

In  the  midst  of  all  these  occupations,  Father 
Nerinckx  felt  more  and  more  keenly  the  want 
of  money,  which  he  could  have  used  to  such  great 
advantage  for  the  establishment  and  improve- 
ment of  Loretto,  and  the  erection  of  churches  in 
the  new  missions  that  he  had  visited  for  the  first 
time  in  1810.  Owing  to  the  troubled  condition 
of  aifairs  in  Europe,  funds  reached  him  but  very 
rarely,  and  in  such  small  sums,  that  he  resolved 
to  undertake  the  then  dangerous  journey  to  the 
old  country,  in  order  to  procure  the  means  for 
completing  the  works  begun.  He  therefore  ap- 
plied to  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Flaget  for  the  neces- 
sary permission.  Having  but  eight  priests  to 
attend  to  the  spiritual  wants  of  the  people  in  his 
extensive  diocese,  and  Father  Nerinckx'  district 
embracing  nearly  half  of  the  State,  the  Bishop 
.saw  no  possible  way  of  supplying  the  place  of 

(265) 


266  I-IFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [1812- 

the  courageous  missionary.  He  might  possibly 
have  attended  to  those  missions  himself,  but  he 
had  but  just  moved  to  St.  Thomas,  and  was  on 
the  eve  of  undertaking  a  journey  to  Baltimore, 
on  business  connected  with  the  missions  of  Ken- 
tucky. He  accordingly  induced  Father  Ner- 
inckx  to  defer  his  departure  for  two  or  three 
years.  Desiring,  however,  before  leaving  for  the 
East,  to  testif}''  his  esteem  for  the  self-sacrificing 
priest,  and  his  appreciation  of  his  labors,  and  in 
order  to  encourage  the  good  Sisters  of  Loretto, 
he  visited  St.  Charles  and  the  convent  on  the 
8th  of  September,  1812,  returned  to  St.  Thomas 
the  same  evening,  and  started  the  next  day  on 
horseback  for  Baltimore,  accompanied  by  Rev. 
Mr.  Chabrat. 

•  Ko  sooner  was  the  Bishop  gone,  than  the 
devil,  trying  as  of  old  to  thwart,  by  every  avail- 
able means,  a  work  which  was  to  prove  the 
source  of  so  much  good  to  religion,  excited  some 
of  the  priest's  old  enemies  to  circulate  all  kinds 
of  evil  reports  and  damaging  rumors.  Father 
Nerinckx  had,  the  year  before,  published  a  pros- 
pectus, setting  forth  the  inducements  offered  to 
catholics  to  settle  in  what  he  called  the  New  Tract, 
and  the  advantages  that  would  accrue  to  them 
by  a  change  of  residence ;  and  he  had  collected 
some  money  on  the  strength  of  it,  to  begin  the 
erection  of  the  necessary  churches.  This  plan 
his  adversaries  decried  bitterly,  and  tried  to 
prejudice  the  minds  of  the  people  against  Lo- 
retto, and  so  cut  off  all   hope  of  further  help. 


1813.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  2GT 

They  accused  the  priest  so  persistently  of  having 
used  the  money  for  other  purposes  than  the  ones 
it  had  been  pledged  for,  that  Father  Nerinckx 
felt  it  to  be  his  duty,  in  self-defense,  to  issue  the 
following  printed  circular  :* 

"To    ALL    CATHOLICS    OR     OTHERS     TO    WHOM    IT 
MAY   BELONG.       (Slc.) 

"Proofs  are  extant,  and  repeated  accounts 
have  been  given  of  the  employment  of  the  oifer- 
ings  made  by  the  well-wishers  for  the  success  of 
my  undertaking,  for  the  benefit  of  religion,  for 
the  improvement  of  the  thinly  inhabited  counties^ 
and  for  the  spiritual  and  temporal  good  of  the 
several  catholics,  who  have  already  moved,  or 
others  that  are  to  move  hereafter,  to  those  parts 
that  are  mentioned  in  my  once  circulating  Pros- 
^ectics.  An  unfavorable  rumor,  spread  through 
malice,  ignorance,  or  avarice,  that  the  subscrip- 
tion had  failed,  did  reduce  the  subscription 
from  the  start  to  a  very  insignificant  assistance, 
compared,  I  do  not  say  only  with  the  project,  but 
with  what  has  really  been  done  and  complied 
with,  by  erecting  churches  and  making  other 
provisions  of  that  nature,  according  to  the  lit- 
eral expressions  of  the  Prospectus.  Casey's 
Creek,  Clifty,  Hardinsburg,  Union,  etc.,  are  ex- 
tant evidences  of  my  assertion.     A  nunnery  and 

*We  reprint  this  document  just  as  it  came  from  the  press  in 
1812,  without  changing  either  expressions  or  construction,  from 
a  copy  now  in  possession  of  the  Loretto  Mother-house.  It  is 
not  stated  where  it  was  printed,  and  a  mistake  in  the  name  of 
Father  Nerinckx  (ks)  is  corrected  by  his  own  hand. 


•568  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1812- 

a  school  were  projects  still  unfulfilled,  I  agree, 
but  I  hope  not  through  my  neglect.  I  protest 
that  my  sincere  wish  is  now,  as  it  was  at  that 
time,  to  move  myself,  however  ill-qualified  a 
subject,  to  the  appointed  places,  and  there,  to  the 
best  in  my  power,  to  endeavor  to  fulfill  to  a  jot 
my  promises,  notwithstanding  the  failure  of  the 
main  bulk  of  the  subscribers.  In  the  mean- 
time. Providence,  whose  ways  are  oftentimes  dif- 
ferent from  the  speculations  of  men,  seems  to 
have  unexpectedly  manifested  a  design  of  order- 
ing the  very  object  of  a  nunnery  and  school,  to 
be  erected  under  our  eyes  in  our  present  neigh- 
borhood. The  fact  is,  a  long  desired  institute 
for  the  education  of  the  female  youth  is  begun 
by  the  lately  established  Little  Society  of  the 
Friends  of  Mary,  under  the  Cross  of  Jesus,  in  the 
congregation  of  St.  Charles  (Hardin's  Creek), 
at  their  place  called  Loretto.  The  school  is 
forming  fast  of  every  denomination.  The 
scholars  are  instructed  by  two  sisters  of  the  so- 
ciety, and  rules  are  strictly  observed.  We  will 
not  trouble  our  readers  with  praises  of  the  es- 
tablishment ;  the  testimonies  of  the  scholars,  the 
approbation  of  parents  and  thinking  judges  of 
other  denominations,  as  well  as  of  catholics,  be- 
sides the  eao'erness  and  the  number  of  those  who 
wait  for  the  moment  of  their  reception,  are  unex- 
■ceptionable  commendations.  Reading,  writing, 
needle-work,  etc.,  sound  morality  and  christian  po- 
liteness, make  up  the  sum  of  instruction  received 
from  the  society.     Aiming,  and  sincerely  wish- 


1813.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  269- 

ing  to  be  useful  to  all,  without  any  self-seekingv 
the  terms  are  uncommonly  low,  to  wit :  ^5.00  a 
year  for  schooling,  of  which  one  in  cash ;  in- 
ternes or  boarders  are  moreover  to  find  them- 
selves— that  is,  to  provide  for  bedding,  washing, 
victuals,  etc.  IVone  to  be  admitted  for  less  than 
three  months.  No  distinction  is  made  of  re- 
ligious denominations,  if  willing  to  submit  to 
the  rules  of  the  school.  Needy  orphans,  as 
much  as  possible,  will  be  admitted  gratis.  One 
may  even  become  a  member  of  the  society  gratis, 
if  sufficiently  qualified  for  it.  The  same  society 
will  become,  besides,  an  asylum  or  shelter  for 
old  age,  decrepit  and  useless  slaves,  and  what- 
ever kind  of  sick  or  distressed  fellow-creatures 
may  call  for  their  assistance,  as  far  as  their  poor 
condition  will  permit.  The  work  being  begun 
on  a  small  spot  lately  bought  by  the  sisters, 
where  housing  is  not  only  bad  but  entirely  in- 
sufficient, and,  as  it  is  situated  in  a  congregation 
under  my  care,  I  am,  by  the  requisition  of  the 
Right  Reverend  Bishop,  willing  to  assist  in  fix- 
ing for  the  temporal  wants  of  buildings,  etc.  I 
trust  the  neighboring  congregations  will  not  be 
indifferent  in  the  present  need  of  the  just-rising 
society  and  school,  which  can  not  fail  to  repay 
with  an  accumulated  interest  the  small  expenses 
and  labor  that  are  required  at  present  for  build- 
ing a  roomy  and  sufficient  house,  with  some 
other  necessaries.  I  myself,  besides  my  pains 
and  very  remarkable  hardships,  do  sacrifice 
$400  cash  to   carry  on    this  so  necessary  worlc 


270  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1812- 

for  the  religious  and  public  good.  I  hope  I 
will  find  some  generous  followers  in  the  several 
surrounding  congregations  ;  and  I  trust  that  the 
old  subscription  will  cheerfully  be  complied  with, 
while  the  new  one  will  be  favorably  received. 
For  all  must  feel  eagerly  desirous  to  help  us,  in 
this  important  business,  undertaken  for  their 
great  interest,  without  any  the  least  of  our  own. 
Mr.  Vincent  Gates  has  been  requested  to  take 
the  names  of  the  subscribers  and  well-wishers. 

"  C.  Nerinckx. 

"  Dated  the  2d  day  of  October,  1812. 

"  P.  S.  I  wish  to  complete  the  big  house  and 
to  have  it  ready  for  dwelling  about  next  Christ- 
mas, if  the  subscription  succeed. 

"  There  are  already  thirty  or  forty  scholars, 
and  if  the  housing  was  sufficient,  fully  the 
double  of  this  number  would  daily  frequent  the 
school." 

People  eagerly  responded  to  the  inelegantly 
worded,  but  truthful  and  matter-of-fact  call  of 
the  persecuted  priest,  and,  on  a  coj^y  of  the  docu- 
ment now  in  possession  of  the  Loretto  Mother- 
house,  we  find  the  following  names,  with  amounts 
of  subscription  varying  from  two  bushels  of  corn 
to  three  of  wheat,  and  from  seven  dollars  in 
trade  to  a  hundred  weight  of  pork:* 

William  Mattingly,  John  Wheatly,  Joseph 
Simpson,  Mary  Ann  Montgomery,  Aquilla  Blan- 
ford,    Ignatius    0' Bryan,   John    Willett,    John 

*  We  notice  only  one  subscription  of  $2  in  money. 


1813.]  LIFE  OF  KEV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  271 

;Simms,  Joseph  O'Robey,  Frances  Sims,  Joseph 
Knott,  Nicholas  Beaven,  Alethey  Gibbs,  Su- 
sanna Rudd,  Thomas  Hayden,  Steven  Yates, 
Barnaby  Mattingly,  Charles  Hardasty,  Henry 
J3oon,  Mary  Boon,  Robert  Ryney,  Alexander 
Hamilton,  Walter  Hamilton,  John  B.  Tomson, 
John  A.  Montgoinery,  Margaret  Montgomery, 
James  Simpson. 

Encouraged  by  this  scanty  but  hearty  help 
of  his  people,  the  poor  priest  continued  the  work 
with  unabated  energy,  and,  in  less  than  two 
years,  completed  the  buildings  described  in  the 
preceding  chapter.  Francis  Melton,  of  Wash- 
ington county,  built  "three  double  cabins  of  the 
monastery  each  of  two  pens,  of  sixteen  feet  in  the 
clear,  with  a  passage  between  of  eight  feet,  to  be 
finished  and  workmanly  completed  before  the 
end  of  July,  1813."  The  timber  being  scarce  on 
the  small  lot  of  the  sisters,  it  had  "to  be  taken 
as  much  as  possible  from  General  Walton's  and 
other  willing  neighbors'  land."  This  agreement, 
concluded  on  the  5th  day  of  February,  1813, 
stipulated  that  Charles  Nerinckx  should  pay  for 
the  work  "  sixty  dollars  in  cash,  and  sixty  dol- 
lars in  trade,  rated  at  the  common  trade  price, 
the  goods  to  be  delivered,  beginning  March 
1st,  at  Mr.  Charles  Hay  den's,  on  Pottinger's 
Creek."* 

But  whilst  the  struggling  institution  seemed 
in  some  degree  blessed  with  material  prosperity, 

*MS.    contract  written  by   Rev.   Nerinckx,  in  the    Loretto 
archives. 


272  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1812- 

God,  in  his  all-wise  Providence,  saw  fit  to  try 
the  sisters  and  purify  them  by  affliction,  that 
they  might  look  up  to  Him  only  for  help,  and 
sever  themselves  more  and  more  from  all  earthly 
affections.  In  the  glowing  crucible  only  does 
gold  lose  its  dross,  and  it  comes  out  of  it  in  all 
the  pure  brightness  of  its  unalloyed  nature. 
During  the  Summer  of  1812,  the  health  of  Dear 
Mother  Ann  Rhodes  rapidly  declined.  She 
had  been  suffering  from  consumption  for  years, 
and  as  the  fatal  disease  seemed  to  gather  addi- 
tional strength  from  the  comfortless  position  of 
its  willing  victim,  the  devoted  sisters  bestowed 
on  their  Dear  Mother  all  the  fond  cares  and 
soothing  attentions  which  religious  affection 
alone  knows  how  to  dispense.  From  the  white- 
curtained  bed  in  one  of  the  two  old  cabins,  where 
the  Superior  was  patiently  suffering,  she  di- 
rected her  little  community  with,  if  possible, 
more  care  and  attention  than  ever.  When  the 
absence  of  the  Father  deprived  the  community 
of  the  happiness  of  having  the  Holy  Sacrifice  of 
the  Mass  ofiered  up  in  her  room,  which  was  also 
the  temporary  chapel,  the  sisters  gathered  around 
her  bed  to  listen  to  some  edifying  instruction  from 
her  lips.  These  her  last  utterances  sank  deep 
into  the  hearts  of  sisters  and  scholars,  and  were 
afterward  remembered  and  repeated  for  years. 
For  like  the  busy  bee,  who  at  the  approach  of 
spring  comes  to  the  hive,  laden  with  the  frngrant 
dew  of  early  flowers  hidden  to  the  eye  of  man, 
so,  the  provident  Mother,  nearing  her  heavenly 


]j 


1813.]         LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  273 

home,  seemed  to  borrow  from  God's  own  mys- 
teries beyond  the  grave  the  glowing  thoughts 
and  burning  words  of  divine  love  for  the  spirit- 
ual food  of  her  sisters.  In  fact,  her  precious 
days  were  numbered.  In  the  beginning  of 
December,  1812,  Father  Nerinckx  gave  her  the 
Last  Sacraments  of  the  church  in  the  presence  of 
novices  and  pupils,  and  on  the  early  morning  of 
the  11th,  happy  and  fully  resigned  to  the  holy 
will  of  Grod,  Dear  Mother  Ann  passed  to  a  better 
life,  the  first  flower  of  the  Loretto  g;irden 
transplanted  in  Jesus'  heavenly  paradise.  It 
was  a  cold  wintry  day ;  the  snow  thickly  fell  on 
the  frozen  earth,  mantling  it  in  pure  attire,  the 
more  fitly  to  embosom  the  virgin  corpse  that 
was  soon  t^)  be  intrusted  to  its  dark  keeping. 
Father  jSTerinckx  came  down  from  St.  Charles  to 
say  the  Mass  of  the  dead  for  the  repose  of  her 
soul,  and  Mother  Ann  was  buried  according  to 
rule,  lying,  attired  in  her  religious  dress,  with- 
out a  coffin,  in  the  bare  grave,  preaching  blessed 
and  loved  poverty  even  in  death. 

This  method  of  burying  the  sisters  was  ob- 
served for  over  twenty-five  years,  when,  in  1837, 
Father  Boullier,  having  witnessed  the  burial  of 
a  sister  in  Perry  county,  Mo.,  burst  into  tears, 
and  vowed  he  would  have  that  custom  changed. 
He  wrote  to  the  Holy  Father,  whom  he  had  per- 
sonally known  in  Rome,  and  a  Brief  arrived 
about  two  years  later  ordering  the  use  of  a  cof- 
fin. Mother  Agnes,  of  Pine  Bluffs,  Arkansas, 
was  the  last  one  buried  according  to  the  ancient 


:274  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1812- 

Tite,  on  the  21st  of  August,  1839 ;  however,  the 
•bystanders'  tribute  of  roses,  and  a  few  boards, 
preserved  her  body  from  the  immediate  contact 
•of  the  incumbent  earth.  The  spirit  of  mortifi- 
cation which  actuated  Father  Nerinckx  in  all  he 
■did,  made  him  no  doubt  look  at  death  in  the 
light  of  "  (lust  thou  art  and  unto  dust  thou  shalt  re- 
turn,^^  and  in  this  matter  he  consented  to  the  sis- 
ters' own  wishes.  Respect  for  the  virgin  re- 
mains, which  in  life  were  the  temple  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  dictated  the  action  of  the  other 
reverend  gentleman.  Both  had  holy  motives ; 
the  former  showed  more  austerity,  the  latter 
:surely  acted  more  in  conformity  with  the  by  no 
means  reprehensible  feelings  of  our  sensitive 
.and  weak  human  nature. 

In  his  few  remarks  upon  the  society.  Father 
l^erinckx  pays  the  following  tribute  to  the 
memory  of  the  deceased:  "Dear  Mother  Ann 
was  a  pious  lady  before  being  a  nun.  She  had 
given  a  negro  girl  to  Rev.  Mr.  Badin  when  he 
was  fixing  for  a  nunnery,  which  house  was  de- 
stroyed by  fire  before  any  girls  met  to  live  in  it. 
When  Mother  Ann  came  into  the  Loretto  So- 
ciety, in  which  she  was  the  fourth  in  number, 
.she  was  nearly  spent  with  consumption,  of 
which  she  died,  having  been  for  a  few  months 
the  first  Superior,  and  a  holy  one  indeed^ 

Deprived  of  their  Mother,  the  Friends  of 
Mary  at  the  Foot  of  the  Cross  now  realized  better 
-what  their  name  implied.  At  the  foot  of  the 
plain  wooden  cross  which  adorned  the  last  rest- 


1813.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  275 

ing  place  of  their  lost  Mother,  they  gave  vent  to 
the  oft-repeated  aspirations,  "  0  Siiifering 
Jesus!  0  Sorrowful  Mary!"  with  more  fervor 
than  ever  before,  and  gathered  strength  to  stand 
with  the  Sorrowful  Mother  under  the  cross  of 
the  suffering  Jesus  when  a  sword  of  sorrow 
pierced  their  souls.  But  the  consoling  voice  of 
Father  T^erinckx  was  not  wanting  in  this  sad 
emergency ;  from  it  he  took  occasion  to  recall  to 
their  minds  how  short  was  their  hard  pilgrim- 
age on  earth,  and  how  lasting  and  glorious  their 
heavenly  reward.  They  now  had  a  mother  who 
w^ould  assist  them  with  her  prayers  above,  and 
should  at  once  proceed  to  select  one  to  guide 
them  through  trials  and  difficulties  here  below. 

Sister  Mary  Bkodes,  the  first  one  who  had  ap- 
plied to  Father  Nerinck  for  leave  to  teach,  and, 
in  that  sense,  the  foundress  of  the  Society  of 
Friends  of  Mary,  having  received  the  majority 
of  votes,  succeeded  her  sister  as  Dear  Mother, 
and  filled  the  position  for  ten  years  to  the  satis- 
faction of  all,  imparting  to  her  children  that 
first  fervor  and  peculiar  spirit  of  mortification 
which  characterized  the  establishment  of  their 
beloved  society.  Father  JS^erinckx  confirmed 
lier  in  the  charge,  and  directed  that  her  assist- 
ant in  the  office  should  be  Sister  Christina 
Stuart,  under  the  title  of  Sister  Eldest.  Sister 
Clare  Morgan  continued  to  act  as  head  of  the 
school,  directing  the  children,  and  also  the  sis- 
ters employed  in  the  school  with  her. 

Whilst  the  new  buildings  were  going  up,  the 


276  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1812- 

sisters  had  to  protect  themselves  as  best  they 
could  against  the  inclemency  of  the  wintry 
weather  in  the  two  old  huts.  But  they  stood 
bravely  that  uncommonly  cold  and  dreary  sea- 
son, going  themselves  to  the  woods  to  cut  the 
necessary  fuel.  It  having  been  found  necessary 
to  remove  the  huts  out  of  the  way  of  the  new 
buildings,  they  took  them  down  with  their  own 
hands.  But  the  convent  home  was  not  yet 
finished ;  they  therefore  volunteered  to  put 
them  up  again ;  and,  the  walls  being  very  low 
and  composed  of  small  logs.  Father  Nerinckx  al- 
lowed the  sisters  to  reconstruct  their  temporary 
homes  in  a  more  suitable  spot,  of  convenient  ac- 
cess from  the  new  convent.  "  They  all  will- 
ingly undertook  humiliating  work  whenever 
their  temporal  wants  required  any  such  labor 
to  be  done.  In  this,  their  humble  Father  gave 
them  a  most  admirable  example.  He  industri- 
ously took  part  with  them  in  every  kind  of  hard 
work,  spending  whatever  time  he  could  spare 
from  his  ministerial  duties  in  chopping  wood,  roll- 
ing logs,  burning  brush,  clearing  the  ground  to 
p'ant  corn,  etc.  His  watchful  eye  was  every- 
where. Often  would  he  be  seen  with  hammer, 
nails,  or  other  tools  in  hand,  fixing  doors,  mend- 
ing fences  and  gates,  and  always  bareheaded, 
the  sun  bearing  down  on  his  bald  pate."  * 

Poverty  was,  in  fact,  the  characteristic  virtue 
of  the  institution.  Though  industrious  and  al- 
ways occupied,  the  sisters  had  at   first    hardly 

*  Personal  recollections  of  one  of  the  sisters. 


1813.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERTNCKX.  277 

enough  to  live  on.  Their  boarders  paid  only 
$32  a  year ;  and  many  of  them,  being  poor  or- 
phans, paid  nothing  at  all  for  either  board, 
tuition,  or  clothing.  This  accounts  for  the  ex- 
treme poverty  which  compelled  them  to  wear 
their  secular  clothes  with  a  kerchief  or  bonnet 
for  head-dress.  In  the  early  Winter  months  of 
1813  they  began  spinning  and  weaving  for  their 
neighbors,  and  a  small  pecuniary  remuneration 
enabled  them  to  buy  the  provisions  they  stood 
so  much  in  need  of,  and  to  procure  clothing  ma- 
terial for  themselves.  The  latter  was  the  great 
object  in  view ;  an  extra  effort  was  made  to 
have  habit  and  veil,  leather  belt  and  scapu- 
ular  ready  for  the  coming  festival  of  August 
15th,  when  the  great  event  was  to  take  place — 
receiving  the  black  veil  and  taking  the  religious 
vows !  An  attempt  was  also  made  to  furnish 
each  sister  with  a  home-made  cloak  to  protect 
her  from  the  cold  during  Mass  and  morning  and 
evening  meditations  in  Winter  time ;  but,  un- 
able to  procure  cloaks  for  all,  they  necessarily 
gave  up  the  idea.  Stockings  and  shoes  were 
worn  only  from  the  1st  of  JSTovember  till  March 
25th,  the  sisters  going  barefooted  the  balance  of 
the  year.  This  severe  custom  was  introduced 
at  the  request  of  the  first  sisters,  who  begged  of 
Father  Nerinckx  to  let  them  try  and  go  bare- 
footed as  did  the  holy  anchorites  of  old.  He  at 
first  refused  the  desired  permission,  but  yielded 
at  last  to  repeated  entreaties.  Some  time  before 
his   death,  hoAvever,  he   ordered   the  sisters  to 


278  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1812- 

wear  shoes  all  through  the  year,  and  never  to 
resume  the  former  practice.  During  the  first 
years,  breakfast  consisted  of  bread  and  vege- 
table soup  or  rye-coffee  served  in  tin  cups  ;  sup- 
per of  bread  and  milk  or  sage  tea,  without 
either  meat  or  butter ;  dinner  was  dished  up  in 
tin  plates,  and  consisted  of  one  kind  of  meat 
(when  they  could  get  it)  and  vegetables ;  pious 
reading  during  meals  was  the  only  desert  al- 
lowed, unless  some  neighbor's  charity  afforded 
them  the  luxury  of  fruit.  The  beds  were  the 
simplest  expression  that  useful  piece  of  furni- 
ture is  susceptible  of,  viz :  a  shake-down  of 
straw  on  the  bare  floor,  without  either  sheet  or 
pillow !     The  sisters  were  too  poor  to  get  any. 

And  yet,  in  the  midst  of  this  Bethlehemetic 
poverty,  and  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  no 
new  candidate  came  to  swell  their  number  dur- 
ing the  whole  year,  the  good  souls  were  haj)py 
and  contented  ;  they  rejoiced  because  enabled  to 
suffer  in  union  with  the  suffering  Jesus  and  the 
sorrowful  Mary.  Their  clear  and  cheerful  voices 
re-echoed  in  the  woods,  as  morning  and  evening, 
before  and  after  school,  they  contentedly  sang  the 
praises  of  God  and  of  his  beloved  Mother,  which, 
borne  on  the  winds,  reached  many  a  worldly  ear 
that  had  been  listening  perhaps  that  very  day 
to  some  slanderous  tale  of  profane  scorn.  For, 
indeed,  the  sisters  had  their  share  of  the  con- 
tempt which  the  world  professes  for  all  that  is 
noble  and  pure.  Had  not  Christ  himself  been 
slandered  and  vilified  ?     And  had  not  He  said 


1812-13.]    LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  279 

that  "the  disciple  is  not  above  the  master,"  that 
he  had  to  "  take  up  the  Cross  and  follow  him?" 
"  Old  priest  Nerinckx  thought  he  was  doing- 
great  things  by  collecting  women  together  and 
making  nuns  of  them!  But  for  themselves^ 
they  thought — the  lofty  geniuses  ! — he  was  do- 
ing a  good  thing  for  the  country,  by  clearing  it  of 
all  the  old  maids  that  were  in  it !"  Such  and  simi- 
lar were  the  comments  of  the  worldings  of  these 
early  times,  and  such,  indeed,  are  the  remarks  of 
the  worldings  of  the  present  day,  when  fair 
young  maidens,  the  flower  of  society  and  the 
pride  of  their  families,  cross  by  the  hundreds 
the  threshold  of  the  convent  gate,  to  lay  at  the 
feet  of  their  Heavenly  Spouse,  Jesus  Christ,  the 
richest  and  rarest  qualities  of  heart  and  mind, 
of  which  the  world  is  not  worthy  !  Ah  !  truly, 
dear  Sisters,  the  words  of  our  Blessed  Lord  are 
as  practical  to-day  as  they  were  eighteen  hun- 
dred years  ago  :  "If  the  world  hate  you,  know 
ye  that  it  hated  me  before  you  ;  if  you  had 
been  of  the  world,  the  world  would  love  its  own ; 
but  because  you  are  not  of  the  world,  but  I  have 
chosen  you  out  of  the  world,  therefore  the  world 
hateth  you.  Remember  my  word  that  I  said  to 
you :  the  servant  is  not  greater  than  his  Lord. 
If  they  persecuted  me,  they  will  also  persecute 
you.   * 

*  John  XV.  18-20. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

1813-1815. 

Taking  the  veil. — Sister  Monica. — Blessing  the  church  and 
content. — "do  not  forsake  providence." — plttsburg  stoves. 
— New    postdlants. — Protestations    of    the     people. — Bishop 

FlAGET    EXPL.ilNS. 

The  15th  day  of  August,  1813,  feast  of  the 
Assumption  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary,  was  a 
day  of  unusual  commotion  in  the  ordinarily  quiet 
settlement  on  Hardin's  Creek.  The  little  log 
church  of  St.  Charles  was  crowded  to  its  utmost 
capacity,  and  many,  unable  to  gain  admission, 
lined  the  road,  staring  wonderingly  at  the  devout 
procession,  which  was  slowly  winding  its  way 
from  Loretto  convent,  over  the  hill  to  the  church. 
Father  Nerinckx  was  evidently  taking  more  than 
ordinary  interest  in  the  ceremonies  of  the  day, 
as  he  stood  waiting  at  the  communion  railing 
within  the  sanctuary.  Had  not  the  best  sacer- 
dotal apparel  which  destitution  could  command 
bespoken  the  extraordinary  event,  the  emotion 
now  visible  in  his  usually  cold  and  stern  counte- 
nance would  have  betrayed  it.  Was  it  a  tear 
of  joy  he  brushed  away,  when  the  school  chil- 
dren passed  two  and  two  up  the  narrow  church 

(280) 


1813-15.]    LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  28t 

aisle,  followed  by  the  five  novices,  appearing  for 
the  first  time  in  their  religious  dress  ?  Curiosity 
more  than  devotion  had  attracted  the  forward, 
jiressing  crowd ;  yet,  when,  at  the  foot  of  the 
altar,  Dear  Mother  Mary,  and  Sisters  Christina, 
Clare,  Ann,  and  Sarah  pronounced,  in  a  firm 
voice,  the  holy  vows  of  perpetual  Poverty, 
Chastity,  and  Obedience,  which  bound  them  for 
life  to  their  Heavenly  Spouse,  the  listeners  were 
filled  with  a  reverential  awe ;  they  assisted  at 
the  Holy  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass  that  followed,  and 
listened  to  the  earnest  words  of  the  priest,  with 
a  till  then  unknow^n  attention  and  devotion. 
Father  ^N'erinckx  was  not  himself ;  his  pent-up 
feelings  gave  vent  in  burning  words  of  eloquence 
Avhich  enraptured  his  listeners,  and  made  them 
forget  for  a  moment  all  the  empty  joys  of  the 
world,  to  live  on  the  emotions  of  the  hour  that 
filled  their  breasts.  "  The  country  was  rid  of 
those  old  maids,"  indeed;  but  what  was  that 
something  which  welled  up  in  their  hearts,  and 
made  them  feel  such  respect — aye,  admiration — 
for  the  self-sacrificing  young  ladies  ?  Few 
stopped  to  consider  it ;  and  they  soon  forgot  the 
holy  impressions  of  that  solemn  day,  in  the  usual 
turmoil  of  worldly  occupations. 

But  one  had  heard  the  voice  of  the  Spirit  in 
her  inmost  soul ;  and  scarcely  had  the  door  of 
the  poor  little  cabin  of  Loretto  shut  upon  the 
five  humble  sisters,  when  a  gentle  rap  dis- 
tracted them  from  the  holy  joy  of  heavenly  con^ 


282  I^IJ^K  OF  KEV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1813- 

templations  which  filled  their  hearts.  What 
worldling  dare  intrude  on  such  a  day  and  at 
such  an  hour  on  their  sacred  solitude,  and  inter- 
rupt their  intercourse  with  God  ? 

Open  the  door  wide  open,  Dear  Mother ;-. 
another  child  is  gathered  to  the  happy  little 
family.  She  has  tasted  of  the  sweetness  of 
self-denial;  her  "soul  thirsteth  for  the  living- 
God,"  and  will  only  be  satisfied  when  she  is 
gathered  to  your  bosom  as  one  of  your  own.. 
Miss  Monica  Sjpalding  was  looked  upon  by  all 
who  knew  her  as  a  model  of  piety  and  christian 
modesty.  She  was  a  second  cousin  of  Richard 
Spalding,  of  Holy  Mary's  on  the  Rolling  Fork, 
and  was  well  known  by  Father  Nerinckx.  He 
used  to  stop  at  her  kinsman's  house  when  saying- 
Mass  at  Holy  Mary's,  where  he  had  baptized, 
three  years  previously,  Richard  Spalding's 
youngest  child,  Martin  John,  the  future  Bishop 
of  Louisville  and  Archbishop  of  Baltimore. 
The  sisters  also  respected  her  greatly  for  her 
virtuous  character,  and  she  was  accepted  as  a 
postulant  the  same  day.  After  a  short  trial,  she 
was  permitted  to  become  a  novice,  retaining  her 
christian  name  of  Sister  Monica.  Fervent  in 
the  world,  she  continued  so  in  religion ;  plain 
and  unassuming  in  her  manners  and  conversa- 
tion, she  made  herself  agreeable  to  all.  The 
Almighty  was  pleased  to  bless  her  with  a  long^ 
life,  nearly  fifty  years  of  which  she  spent  in  re- 
ligion. 

A  short  time  after  Sister  Monica  became   a 


]815]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  283- 

novice,  a  Miss  Hayden  arrived  from  Mis- 
souri, and  begged  of  Father  Nerinckx  and  the 
sisters  to  be  received  into  the  society.  Far 
from  church  and  priest,  she  never  had  had  the 
opportunity  of  making  her  first  communion  ;  but 
no  sooner  had  the  news  reached  her  in  her  dis- 
tant home,  that 'a  sisterhood  was  established  in 
Kentucky,  than,  anxious  to  consecrate  herself  to 
God,  she  started  on  her  long  lonely  journey,  and 
she  had  the  happiness  of  receiving  her  God  in 
her  heart  the  very  day  on  which  she  pledged  to 
Him  her  virgin  affections  by  becoming  a  novice 
among  the  Friends  of  Mary. 

As  the  community  increased  in  numbers,  the 
school  became  more  and  more  popular  and  fre- 
quented. On  his  missionary  tours,  Father  JN'er- 
inckx  would  often  expatiate  on  the  advantages  of 
a  catholic  education,  and  he  prevailed  upon 
many  parents  to  send  their  girls  to  Loretto  in 
order  to  have  them  receive  the  catholic  instruc- 
tion and  literary  training  which  they  could  not 
procure  for  them  in  their  new  settlements.  Upon 
returning  to  their  homes,  these  young  ladies 
were  a  great  help  to  the  missionary  priest,  who 
intrusted  to  them,  during  his  absence,  the  cate- 
chetical instruction  of  the  children..  Their  pro- 
ficiency in  reading  and  writing  and  their  polished 
manners  also  favorably  impressed  the  parents, 
and  induced  many  more  to  procure  for  their 
children  the  same  priceless  boon  of  a  convent 
education. 

This  induced   Father  Nerinckx  to  think  se- 


284  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1815- 

riously  about  the  necessity  of  increasing  the 
boarding  facilities  of  his  now  flourishing  institu- 
tion ;  and  it  being  impossible  to  collect  the 
necessary  funds  among  his  people,  he  again  ap- 
plied to  Bishop  Flaget  for  permission  to  go  to 
Europe  to  solicit  the  required  help.  His  re- 
quest was  granted  in  the  Spring  of  1814,  and 
Father  JN'erinckx  at  once  set  to  work  completing 
the  only  unfinished  buildings,  viz:  the  church 
and  convent.  He  soon  had  the  church  adorned 
inside,  as  well  as  his  scanty  means  would  allow, 
and  ready  for  services.  The  altar  being  built, 
the  statue  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary  was 
again  transferred,  from  the  oratory  in  the  kitchen 
building,  to  an  honorable  place  above  the 
tabernacle.  The  bell  belonging  to  Father  Ner- 
inckx,  and  which,  up  to  that  time,  had  remained 
at  Father  Badin's  dwelling,  w^as  carried  home 
and  placed  in  the  handsome  little  steeple  grac- 
ing- the  middle  of  the  roof.  Its  silverv  tones 
rang  out  sweet  and  joyful  when,  a  few  days  af- 
ter. Bishop  Flaget  blessed  the  church  and  con- 
vent, into  which  the  sisters  moved  the  same  day, 
giving  it  the  title  of  Little  Loretto.  Every 
thing  now  being  ready,  and  the  Bishop  having 
volunteered  to  attend  as  best  he  could  to  his 
numerous  congregations  scattered  far  and  wide, 
Father  Nerinckx  set  out  for  Baltimore.  Here 
he  had  the  happiness  of  paying  his  respects  to 
his  Grace,  Archbishop  Carroll,  whom  he  had  not 
seen  since  he  first  set  out  for  his  Western  mis- 
sionary home.   ^The  Archbishop  received   him 


1815.]         LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  285 

with  the  utmost  kindness,  and  having  learned 
the  object  of  his  coming,  urged  him  strongly  to 
defer  his  trip  until  the  war  with  England  would 
have  ceased ;  because,  apart  from  the  danger  of 
his  being  captured  by  the  British,  the  high  seas 
were  just  then  also  infested  with  Algerian  pi- 
rates. Father  Nerinckx  promptly  complied  with 
the  advice  of  the  good  prelate,  and  he  hastened 
home  again,  where  he  was  welcomed  with  the 
most  unequivocal  demonstrations  of  joy  by  sis- 
ters and  people. 

He  at  once  resumed  his  accustomed  labors. 
The  prospects  were  rather  gloomy  :  no  means 
on  hand,  debts  incurred  for  the  latest  improve- 
ments ;  no  land  cleared ;  how  could  the  sisters 
be  sustained?  Who  would  clear  the  land  for 
them  ?  But,  always  full  of  confidence  in  God, 
Father  Nerinckx  struggled  bravely  on ;  and  to 
those  who  would  fain  have  discouraged  him,  by 
asking  how  he  would  manage  to  keep  up  the 
struggling  institution,  he  invariably  answered 
with  his  now  famous  motto:  " i>o  not  forsake 
Providence,  and  He  will  never  forsake  your  Nor 
was  he  deceived. 

An  old  widowed  lady  of  most  virtuous  life, 
Mrs.  Ryan  by  name,  having  been  received 
among  the  novices,  her  aged  brother,  Mr.  Vin- 
cent Grates,  soon  after  offered  to  Father  Ner- 
inckx  his  life-long  services  for  the  benefit  of 
Loretto  convent.  Being  of  an  irreproachable 
character,  he  readily  obtained  Father  Nerinckx' 
consent  to  live  in  the  middle  cabin  near  the  gar- 


-286  I^IFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1813- 

den ;  and,  helped  at  times  by  the  priest,  he  set 
to  work  clearing  the  land  around  the  convent 
home,  and  procuring  for  the  sisters'  use  the  fire- 
wood which,  up  to  this  time,  they  had  had  to 
cut  themselves.  A  horse,  the  gift  of  Bishop 
Flaget,  was  a  welcome  addition  to  their  means 
of  support,  and,  though  partly  blind,  became 
a  valuable  aid  in  hauling  logs  and  in  plowing  up 
the  limited  clearings.  Under  the  interested 
and  careful  management  of  old  Mr.  Gates,  the 
farm  soon  yielded  the  vegetables,  cotton,  and 
flax  for  the  use  of  the  house.  Having  received 
a  small  amount  of  money  from  Europe,  Father 
Nerinckx  also  sent,  in  1814,  for  the  first  stoves 
introduced  into  Kentucky.  They  were  shipped 
on  the  Ohio,  all  the  way  from  Pittsburg,  and 
cost  him  $100  apiece,  besides  freight  charges ! 

In  the  meantime,  the  school  flourished  beyond 
all  expectations  under  the  wise  superintendence 
of  Sister  Clare.  The  young  ladies  made  rapid 
progress  not  only  in  learning,  but  especially  in 
virtue.  Daily  witnesses  of  the  austere  life  and 
virtuous  demeanor  of  their  teachers,  they  could 
not  but  feel  the  beneficial  efi'ects  of  their  ex- 
ample, and  they  formed  themselves  into  sodali- 
ties and  other  pious  associations,  which  soon  bore 
their  happy  fruits.  Early  in  1815,  Miss  Ann 
Hart,  who  had  been  a  pupil  at  Loretto,  where 
;she  had  qualified  herself  to  teach  a  school  in  the 
neighborhood  of  her  parents'  home  in  Breckin- 
ridge county,  returned  to  the  convent  for  the  os- 
tensible purpose  of  pursuing  her  studies,  but  in 


a815.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  287 

reality  with  the  intention  of  joining  the  sister- 
hood. When  she  was  yet  a  scholar  in  the  insti- 
tution, her  parents  had  prevented  her  from  be- 
coming a  nun,  alleging  that  she  was  too  young. 
She  was  now  independent,  being  of  age;  and, 
upon  her  earnest  solicitation,  she  was  admitted 
temporarily  into  the  community  with  the  con- 
sent of  Father  Nerinckx,  who  advised  her 
parents  of  the  step  she  intended  to  take.  Her 
father  came  to  Loretto,  had  a  private  interview 
with  her,  and,  having  declared  himself  perfectly 
satisfied  as  to  the  call  of  his  child  to  a  religious 
life,  the  new  postulant  soon  received  the  habit 
and  took  the  name  of  Sister  Agnes. 

Her  example  was  not  lost  on  the  other  pupils. 
The  greater  number,  indeed,  returned  to  the 
world,  fully  prepared  to  battle  with  life,  becom- 
ing the  joy  and  pride  of  their  parents,  and,  in 
the  course  of  time,  the  respected  mothers  of  ex- 
emplary catholic  families.  But  that  same  year, 
three  of  the  boarders,  only  fifteen  years  of  age, 
manifested  a  wish  to  join  the  sisterhood.  They 
had  deliberated  earnestly  and  for  three  years  on 
this  most  important  step,  and,  although  young 
in  years,  had,  under  the  solid  training  of  the 
sisters  and  the  austere  discipline  of  Father  Ner- 
inckx,  become  much  more  grave  in  disposition 
and  sedate  in  manners  than  many  a  young  girl 
of  mature  age.  Their  minds  were  fully  made 
up,  and  their  entreaties  to  be  received  as  postu- 
lants were  so  persistent  that,  with  the  consent 


288  "LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1813- 

of  their  parents,  they  were  admitted  on  proba- 
tion. 

Hitherto,  the  ceremony  of  taking  the  veil  and 
making  the  vows  had  been  performed  in  St. 
Charles  church.  When  the  time  came  for  the 
young  ladies  to  be  admitted  as  novices,  Father 
Nerinckx  gave  orders  to  have  it  done  in  the  con- 
vent chapel,  which  had  by  this  time  received  all 
the  interior  decorations  which  poverty  could 
well  bestow  upon  the  house  of  God,  In  conse- 
quence. Misses  Ann  Clarke^  Esther  Grundy,  and 
Ann  Wathen,  emphatically  the  children  of  Lo- 
retto  and  the  institution's  offering  of  first  fruits, 
had  the  well-merited  happiness  of  being  the  first 
to  consecrate  themselves  to  God  in  the  convent 
chapel.  Father  Nerinckx  gave  them  the  names 
respectively  of  Sisters  Isabella,  Theresa,  and 
Juliana.  The  day  of  their  reception  was  one  of 
unclouded  happiness  and  inexpressible  joy  for 
sisters  and  children,  and  for  Father  Nerinckx, 
it  was  an  unmistakable  token  that  Providence 
had  blessed  his  work. 

The  whole  thing  passed  off  to  the  satisfaction 
of  all  parties  concerned ;  but  as  usual,  the  out- 
side world,  ever  narrow  and  mercenary  in  its 
views,  and  ready  to  unwarrantably  interfere, 
assumed  the  privilege  of  a  word  or  two  on  the 
subject.  Everywhere  and  at  all  times  abusive 
and  inconsistent,  the  worldlings,  who  a  few 
months  ago  congratulated  themselves  and  Ken- 
tucky at  large  upon  old  priest  Nerinckx'  ridding 
the  country  of  its  old  maids,  and  held  him  up  to 


1815.]  LIFE  OF  KEV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  289 

the  ridicule  of  their  fellow-men,  now  censured 
him  severely — aye,  threatened  him  publicly  with 
their  vengeance — for  thus  taking  from  their 
midst  the  youthful  and  promising  portion  of  the 
community,  the  hope  and  pride  of  their  families, 
and  shutting  them  up  in  a  nunnery  to  pine 
away  and  wear  out  their  lives  in  a  few  short 
years  by  austerity  and  penance.  Good  old  Sis- 
ter Isabella  could  afford  to  laugh  at  their  idle  fears 
when,  sixty  years  later,  she  lived  to  remember 
and  relate  to  the  writer  these  wild  predictions 
of  men  who  had  then  rested  for  many  long- 
years  under  the  green  sod. 

However,  their  clamorous  protestations  grew 
so  loud  and  fierce  that  Bishop  Flaget  thought  it 
his  duty  to  interfere.  The  announcement  that 
the  Bishop,  who,  in  the  short  time  since  his  ar- 
rival in  the  country,  had  completely  gained  their 
good  will,  was  to  officiate  in  St.  Charles, 
brought  a  great  concourse  of  people  to  the 
church  on  that  particular  Sunday.  The  prelate 
ascended  the  pulpit  after  the  Gospel  amidst  the 
breathless  expectation  of  the  curious  auditory. 
He  commenced  by  congratulating  the  congrega- 
tion upon  the  great  advantages  which  the  pos- 
session of  a  convent  would  confer  upon  them- 
selves and  children.  He  feelingly  expatiated 
on  the  happy  results  and  lasting  benefits  which 
their  families  would  derive  from  the  teachinofs 
of  the  sisters,  and  sketched  the  vocation  of  a  re- 
ligious and  teacher  of  the  ignorant  in  such  glow- 


290  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.        [1813- 

ing  colors,  that  many  a  mother  felt  aggrieved 
-that  such  a  glorious  career  was  not  in  store  for 
her  daughter.     He  then  gained  the  men  over  to 
the  cause  of  religion  and  education,  by  reflect- 
ing severely  upon  the  unjust  attacks  made  by 
certain  parties  against  their  pastor,  for  allowing 
young  ladies  to  be  free  in  the  choice  of  their 
own  vocation,  whilst  these  very  men  had  not  a 
word  of  blame  for  parents   who  would   compel 
their  daughters  to  enter  the  matrimonial  state 
against  their  wishes  and  make  them  miserable 
for  life.     In   the   case   in  point,  the  postulants 
were  able  to  choose  for  themselves,  and  had  the 
fullest  consent  of  their  parents.     Young  ladies 
would  never  be  received  into  the  society  as  long 
;as  parents  or  guardians  had  any  reasonable  ob- 
jection to  offer;  but  when  they  were  of  age,  and 
no  serious  objection  could  be  urged  against  their 
admission,    no    catholic    priest    would    prevent 
them  from  following  the  call  of  God ;  it  would 
be  a  downright  folly  to  blame  the  priest  for  ac- 
cepting them,  and  an  intolerable  tyranny  to  cur- 
tail their  freedom. 

This  address  of  the  Bishop  somewhat  checked 
the  outspoken  complaints  of  the  fault-finders,  his 
dear  reasoning  on  the  subject  precluding  all 
specious  objections;  and  the  young  ladies  who 
had  been  the  innocent  cause  of  this  outburst  of 
fanatic  indignation  and  of  unasked-for  pity,  joy- 
ously entered  upon  the  duties  of  their  new  state 
of  life.  The  high  hopes  which  Father  Nerinckx 
had   conceived   of    them   and  which   the  devil 


1815.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  291 

had  tried  so  hard  to  thwart,  were  subsequently 
more  than  fulfilled.  Two  of  them  lived  to  be- 
come Dear  Mothers  or  Superiors  General  of  the 
Friends  of  Mary ;  the  third  one  had  the  honor 
of  establishing  the  second  branch-house  of  the 
society,  and  the  happiness  of  securing  its  per- 
manent usefulness  under  her  short  but  saintly 
administration. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

1815-1816. 

Father  Nekinckx  goes  to  Europe.— Notes  by  the  way.— His 
JOURNEY  TO  Rome. — Impressions:  the  Rome  of  the  Emperors 
AND  the  Rome  of  the  Popes.— Pius  VIL— The  papal  blessing.— 
The  Loretto  rules  approved. — Return  to  Belgium. 

At  the  earnest  request  of  Bishop  Flaget, 
Father  Nerinckx  had  already  delayed  for  three 
years  his  intended  journey  to  Europe  on  busi- 
ness connected  with  the  missions.  He  was 
especially  anxious  to  obtain  the  recognition  and 
approval  of  his  Society,  "  the  Friends  of  Mary 
at  the  Foot  of  the  Cross,"  by  the  then  reigning 
Pontiff,  Pius  VII.  The  peace  of  Ghent,  con- 
cluded December  24,  1814,  had  put  an  end  to 
the  war  with  England,  which  had  prevented  h'm 
leaving  that  year  ;  and  convinced  that  the  glory 
of  God  and  the  benefit  of  religion  urgently  de- 
manded his  going,  he  again  applied  to  the 
Bishop  for  permission  to  undertake  the  journey. 
Seeing  that  he  could  not  reasonably  object  any 
longer  to  the  departure  of  the  courageous  mis- 
sionary, the  Bishop,  although  much  distressed 
in  mind,  gave  his  consent,  and  took  upon  him- 
self to  attend  most  of  Rev.  Nerinckx'  congrega- 

(292) 


1815-16.]    LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  293 

tions,  besides  acting  as  chaplain  to  the  infant 
Society  of  Loretto.  Accordingly,  Father  Ner- 
inckx  set  out,  on  the  10th  of  September,  1815,  on 
his  long  and  wearisome  journey  to  Belgium  and 
Rome.  He  made  his  way  to  Maryland  as  best 
he  could,  and  there,  among  his  former  acquaint- 
ances and  friends,  collected  money  enough  to 
take  him  to  Belgium. 

"  When  I  arrived  in  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania, 
at  the  Rev.  Mr.  O'Brien's,"  he  writes  in  his 
journal,  "  a  man  knocked  at  the  door,  and  being 
admitted  into  the  room,  fell  on  his  knees,  and 
with  outstretched  hands  and  tearful  eyes  ex- 
claimed :  '  My  dear  Fathers,  is  there  no  mercy 
for  us  ?  We  are  poor  abandoned  catholics  ;  no- 
body comes  to  see  us.  It  is  twelve  years  since 
I  was  with  a  priest.  We  are  several  families, 
only  seventy-two  miles  from  here.  Oh  !  for  the 
love  of  God,  come  and  pay  us  a  visit !'  "  This 
little  incident,  of  daily  occurrence  on  the  mis- 
sions, made  a  lasting  impression  on  our  mission- 
ary, and  induced  him  to  hasten  on  his  way,  with 
the  firm  determination  of  gaining  some  of  his 
countrymen  to  the  cause  of  the  poor  neglected 
catholics  of  America,  and  of  bringing  them  out 
with  him. 

He  tarried  in  Belgium  only  long  enough  to 
greet  a  few  friends  and  obtain  the  necessary 
means  to  continue  his  journey,  and  from  Brus- 
sels hastened  to  Rome,  which  he  reached  in 
thirty-seven  days.  Father  l^erinckx'  Flemish 
account  of  this  journey,  printed  in  Belgium  in 


294  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.        [1815- 

1816,*  is  too  suggestive  of  the  man  to  be  omitted 
here.  A  lover  of  the  beautiful  in  the  house  of 
God,  his  mind  was  too  thoroughly  christian  to  be 
favorably  impressed  with  the  marvels  of  art  of 
the  old  pagan  world.  His  austere  virtue  makes 
him  pass  a  severe  verdict  upon  what  a  more  re- 
fined or  facile  taste  might  admire  as  exquisite 
beauty.  He  pronounces  most  of  these  classical 
relics  "heathenish  and  immodest."  The  somber 
forests  of  North  America  were  rather  unfavor- 
able to  acquiring  a.  correct  understanding  of  the 
world's  notions  of  the  beautiful ;  and  the  ar- 
duous and  often  sterile  missionary  duties  of  the 
self-sacrificing  priest  of  Kentucky,  were  little 
calculated  to  develop  a  taste  for  the  heau  ideal 
as  presented  in  the  city  of  Rome — flattered 
favorite  of  the  muses — by  the  ancient  monu- 
ments so  profusely  strewn  over  the  classic  soil 
of  romantic  Italy. 

"  Having  left  Brussels,"  the  20th  of  February, 
1816,  "  I  went  by  Valenciennes,  Paris,  Lyons, 
Chambery,  Turin,  Milan,  Plaisance,  Parma, 
Modena,  Ancona,  and  Loretto,  and  arrived  in 
Rome  in  thirty-seven  days.  The  journey  was 
rather  long,  but  it  was  much  more  expensive. 
What  I  admired  most,  let  alone  Paris  which  is 
sufficiently  known,  is  Mount  Cenis,  which,  being 
covered  with  snow,  presents  a  very  singular  ap- 
pearance.    However,  when  passing  it,  I  experi- 

*  "  Aan  myne  vrienden  en  Bloedverwanten.  Tot  Gend,  by  Ber- 
nard Poelman,  op  de  Hoogpoorte,  in  het  gekroond  Zweird."  No 
date. 


181fi.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  29S 

enced  none  of  the  terrible  impressions  which, 
upon  reading  the  accounts  of  others,  I  imagined 
I  would  feel  at  the  sight  of  it.  The  road  was 
broad  and  easy,  and  in  five  hours  I  was  over  the 
mountain."  Behold  the  matter-of-fact  pioneer 
of  the  American  forests  !  Guided  by  the  steady 
hand  of  his  fearless  rider,  his  noble  horse  Printer 
had  paced  many  a  road  more  uneven  than  the 
Cenis  highway.  The  Kentucky  wilds  presented 
more  obstacles  to  the  weary  missionary,  track- 
ing an  unfrequented  path  through  the  virgin 
forests  in  search  of  the  log  cabin  of  the  solitary 
backwoodsman,  than  did  this  snow-topped  giant 
to  the  light-hearted  Roman  pilgrim ! 

"  Savoy,  like  the  greater  part  of  Italy,  is  more 
picturesque  than  rich.  Turin  is  a  beautiful  city 
The  church  at  Milan,  which  is  far  from  being 
completed,  needs  not,  in  my  opinion,  yield  to  any, 
in  point  of  art.  It  is  the  most  wonderful  mass 
of  marble  which  skilled  hands  have  ever  raised. 
It  contains  an  underground  church,  where  rests 
the  body  of  my  Holy  Patron,  the  great  Charles 
Borromeo.  I  had  the  happiness  of  seeing  the 
crystal  repository  in  which  it  lies  arrayed  in 
pontifical  garments,  and  I  also  visited  the  pal- 
ace where  he  was  born.  Parma,  Plaisance,  and 
Modena  have  left  me  no  impressions  which  I 
care  to  remember.  Loretto,  in  the  Pontifical 
States,  through  which  the  easiest,  if  not  the 
shortest  way  to  Rome  led  me,  is  a  poor  place, 
and  would  have  nothing  to  detain  the  traveler, 
were  it  not  for  the  grand  and  touching  devotion 


296  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1815- 

to  the  miraculous  statue  of  the  Blessed  Virgin 
enthroned  in  the  beautiful  church  which  shelters 
the  holy  House  of  Nazareth. 

"  Three  days  and  a  half  traveling  took  me 
from  Loretto  to  Rome.  The  antique  and  re- 
m.arkahle  monuments  which  I  saw  on  my  way, 
and  of  which  writers  say  so  much,  did  not  make 
upon  me  the  impression  which  travelers  usually 
describe  as  produced  upon  them.  They  are  re- 
markable curiosities,  merely  because  they  are 
old.  Writers  tell  us  that  they  are  the  works  of 
men  who  surpassed  us  in  art  and  genius ;  but 
paganism  shows  in  them  its  stupidity,  im- 
modesty, and  cruelty,  whilst  it  exhibits  but  few 
signs  of  civilization,  courage,  and  humanity. 

"  There  are  many  cities  on  the  way,  but  few 
rural  villages;  hence  the  road  is  a  solitary  one. 
The  houses,  covered  with  a  kind  of  half-round 
tiles,  are  built  of  stone,  ugly  outside,  and  dirty 
inside ;  in  fact,  they  are  filthy  and  uncomforta- 
ble. As  soon  as  you  come  within  French  terri- 
tory, and  until  you  arrive  at  Rome,  every  thing 
partakes  of  that  common  uncleanliness,  and  the 
churches  are  not  free  from  it.  The  roads  are, 
generally  speaking,  broad  and  good ;  all  along 
we  notice  the  works  which  Napoleon  erected 
with  our  money  for  his  own  ends ;  some  are 
praiseworthy,  others  will  last  only  as  long  as 
the  Emperor  himself.  Porticos,  columns,  and 
obelisks  which  recount  his  ruinous  victories,  and 
which  are  now  falling  under  the  revengetul  ham- 
mer of  the  nations,  are  about  the  only  compen- 


3816.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  297 

sation  he  left  for  the  extensive  devastation  and 
ruin  of  all  the  beautiful,  artistic,  and  precious, 
which  Church  and  State  had  worked  out  with  so 
much  perseverance  and  trouble  in  past  centuries. 

"Inns  are  few;  the  relays  are  almost  the 
only  ones,  always  expensive  and  seldom  good. 
The  landlord  and  lady  are  rarely  polite,  and 
leave  the  reception  of  travelers  to  a  clerk,  who 
troubles  himself  very  little  about  the  comfort  of 
the  guests.  As  soon  as  you  leave  Flanders  and 
the  environs  of  Paris,  the  land  becomes  poorer ; 
there  is  hardly  as  much  good  soil  from  Paris  to 
Rome,  as  there  is  in  the  region  of  Alost.  Com- 
pared to  ours,  farm  work  here  is  child's  play, 
and  experience  has  taught  me  the  truth  of  what 
an  Eno-lishman  whom  I  met  on  mv  travels  said 
to  me :  '  When  you  have  traveled  through  Bel- 
gium, you  may  stop  all  inquiries  about  agricul- 
ture.' Land,  cattle,  and  people  bear  testimony 
to  the  soundness  of  that  remark.  No  wonder, 
then,  that  the  nations  love  so  well  to  light  on 
that  lovely  spot,  and  always  quarrel  for  its  mas- 
tery. They  laugh  at  us  and  scorn  us ;  but  the 
fox  also  thought  the  grapes  sour — when  he 
€ould  not  reach  them. 

"  The  examination  of  passports  and  trunks  at 
the  several  custom-houses  takes  up  much  valu- 
able time ;  and  here,  as  well  as  in  the  hotels,  the 
officials  look  for  the  little  contribution,  called  la 
bonne  main  in  France,  and  la  bona  manu  in  Italy. 
These  everlasting  gratuities,  together  with  the 
alms-givings,  amount,  in  the  end,  to  quite  a  sum. 


298  I^IFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1815- 

Were  I  to  travel  the  same  road  over  again,  I 
would  undoubtedly,  if  I  could,  procure  one  or 
two  companions,  hire  a  coach  from  Brussels,  or 
at  least  from  Paris,  through  to  Rome.  For  a 
person  in  my  position,  there  is  many  a  reason 
for  following  such  a  course.  My  present  jour- 
ney and  a  six  weeks'  stay  in  Rome  can  hardly 
be  undertaken  with  less  than  four  hundred  louis. 

"With  regard  to  the  famous  capital  of  the 
world,  I  here  give  you  my  impressions  in  a  few 
words : 

"  The  antiquities,  works  of  art,  extent  of  the 
city,  and  manners  of  the  people,  although  new 
and  strange  to  me,  can  not  command  my  admira- 
tion ;  but  one  can  not  but  be  filled  with  respect 
and  veneration,  when  turning  his  attention  to 
the  treasures  of  christian  art.  The  remaining 
temples  with  their  antique  columns  crumbling 
to  pieces  under  the  weight  of  time  ;  with  their 
mutilated  idols  and  obscene  representations,  the 
shame  and  degradation  of  the  fallen  human  race 
— the  marvelous  and  famous  public  buildings, 
houses,  and  palaces  of  the  conquerors  of  nations, 
to-day  in  ruins  and  hardly  recognizable  without 
the  ouide  book  which  contains  a  list  of  all  that 
pagan  Rome  once  possessed — all  those  great  be- 
ings :  famous  conquerors  and  far-famed  wise  men, 
that  horrible  assemblage  of  great  and  small, 
good  and  evil,  rich  and  poor,  which  gave  the  law 
to  the  three  parts  of  the  then  known  world; 
above  all,  that  long  roll  of  crowned  monsters, 
who  for  the  first  three  hundred  years  waged  war 


]816.]         LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  29f> 

against  the  God  and  Founder  of  the  catholic 
church  and  against  a  multitude  of  martyrs,  and 
whose  memory  is  well-nigh  obliterated  or  barely 
traceable  upon  a  piece  of  fallen  wall,  a  pillar 
crumbled  into  dust,  a  dilapidated  turret,  a  half 
arch  of  a  ruined  bridge,  a  broken  vault  under 
which  no  tourist  dare  venture — all  these  things,  I 
say,  once  so  great  and  admirable,  now  so  little 
and  despicable,  made  but  a  weak  impression  upon 
me ;  for  they  spoke  only  of  what  is  said  here  and 
everywhere,  and  what  St.  Teresa  expresses  so 
well  with  a  '  tout  passe ; '  every  thing  earthl}'' 
passes  away. 

"  But  when,  from  the  old  and  pagan  Rome,  I 
turned  my  eyes  to  the  new  and  catholic  Rome,  I 
felt  something  difficult  to  exjoress  in  words.  In- 
stead of  all  these  fallen  thrones,  these  triumph- 
ant chariots,  these  armies  of  thousands  loaded 
down  with  the  spoils  of  nations  brought  to  beg- 
gary and  slavery — instead  of  all  these,  I  beheld 
on  Holy  Thursday,  high  up  on  the  balcony  of 
St.  Peter's  church,  the  most  magnificent  build- 
ing of  the  world,  a  most  amiable  and  modest 
old  man,  with  virtue  depicted  on  his  counte- 
nance and  love  divine  in  his  heart;  stronger 
alone  and  without  arms,  than  Napoleon  himself 
with  his  legions  and  his  free-mason  lodges  ;  the 
successor  of  Peter ;  the  Father  of  the  christians  ; 
carried  on  the  shoulders  of  picked  Romau 
youths,  having  no  other  noise  around  him  but 
the  ringing  of  religious  joy ;  receiving  no  ex- 
pressions of  respect  and  veneration  but  such  as 


500  LIFE  OF  KEV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1815- 

^re  ultimately  directed  to  the  one  true  and  liv- 
ing God ;  distributing  no  gifts  but  out  of  the 
treasury,  the  keys  of  which  are  intrusted  to  him 
by  that  Sovereign  Lord,  who,  without  doing  in- 
jury to  any  one,  gathered  his  riches  at  his  own 
expense — at  the  price  of  his  blood,  for  the  good 
of  all !  Here,  I  beheld  the  crowned  heads  of 
Spain  and  Etruria,  surrounded  by  great  digni- 
taries and  foreigners  from  all  lands  and  nations, 
bending  low  under  the  blessing  hand  of  the 
Pontiff;  and  cheerfully  and  willingly  did  they 
do  so.  Protestants  and  infidels  themselves 
could  but  behave  with  respect  on  that  solemn  oc- 
casion ;  and,  if  they  do  not  love  our  Holy  Father 
in  their  hearts,  they  are  nevertheless  forced  to 
acknowledge  to  their  friends  that  Pius  VII 
truly  wields  in  Rome  the  power  of  Pope,  of 
Father — father  above  all,  of  universal  father  of 
all  christians,  and  is  truly  clothed  with  supreme 
power  over  all  the  catholics  of  the  earth,  right 
here  in  Rome.  In  Rome,  I  say,  where  pagan- 
ism gathered  in  all  its  strength,  and  disputed 
for  three  hundred  years  with  catholicity  the 
mastery  of  the  world,  to  its  utter  ruin  and  con- 
fusion !  In  Rome,  the  object  of  the  hatred  and 
calumnies  of  all  the  branches  of  error,  we  be- 
hold the  successor  of  the  poor  fisherman,  who, 
in  that  same  Rome,  was  crucified  with  his  head 
downward  by  the  pagans,  borne  in  triumph  over 
the  ashes  of  prostrated  paganism  and  of  the  foolish 
wisdom  of  the  ancients.  And,  notwithstanding  the 
jealousy   which    schism,   heresy,    and    atheism 


1816.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  301. 

with  all  its  brood,  cause  to  rage  in  their  breasts, 
the  unbelievers  are  struck  with  amazement,  and 
unwillingly  acknowledge  that  the  representative 
of  a  God  crucified — the  Pope  of  Rome — making 
the  sign  of  the  cross  over  the  admiring  multi- 
tude, rules,  by  the  motion  of  his  hand,  over  the 
city  and  the  world,  over  the  bodies  and  souls 
of  the  numberless  peoples  of  this  and  distant 
lands.  Kneeling  among  thousands  in  the  grand 
plaza  in  front  of  St.  Peter's  balcony  on  that 
Holy  Thursday,  amidst  the  din  of  vibrating 
bells,  cannon,  and  music,  I  can  not  express  the 
feeling  which  that  solemn  sight  awoke  in  my 
heart.  'Where,'  I  asked  of  myself,  'are  those 
Roman  consuls,  those  Emperors  and  Kings — all 
those  powerful  and  dreaded  men  ?'  I  seek  them 
in  vain  ;  nothing  is  left  of  them.  .  .  .  And 
who  is  the  object  of  ali  this  respect,  of  this  dis- 
play of  the  magnificence  in  the  Imperial  City  ? 
Pius  VII,  the  Pope  of  Rome ;  the  Pope  alone. 
.  .  .  But  he  is  the  Antichrist,  the  leader  of 
superstition,  clamor  heretics  and  Jews !  He  is 
a  tyrant  and  usurper  in  the  Church  of  God  of  a 
power  which  does  not  belong  to  him,  growl 
Schismatics !  He  is  an  adorer  of  new  Gods,  the 
idol  and  personification  of  fanaticism — the  cory- 
pheus  of  the  rabble,  mildly  assent  the  Illuminati 
clubs  and  lodges !  Indeed !  .  .  ,  Look 
around  you :  here  is  a  Bishop  from  Armenia  ; 
there  a  prelate  from  Switzerland ;  yonder  a 
fanatic  from  Constantinople ;  further  on  a  stoic 
Englishman   and   a   cool-headed   American ;   in. 


302  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1815- 

fact,  men  of  all  lands,  nations,  and  climes. 
None  is  out  of  his  wits  ;  none  is  drunk ;  none  in 
fanatic  convulsions ;  and  yet  all  are  absorbed  in 
respectful  contemplation,  and  look  as  transfixed 
upon  the  appearance  of  Pius.  .  .  .  More 
was  not  needed  to  appreciate,  at  their  full  value, 
the  slanderous  epithets  so  liberally  thrown  at 
the  head  of  our  church  by  this  'Generation  of 
Vipers.'  I  received  the  blessing  of  the  Father 
of  christians,  as  the  missionary  to,  and  the  rep- 
resentative of,  a  great  country  in  the  New  World, 
where  I  will  give  an  account  to  my  catholic 
brethren  of  all  these  touching  events.     .     .     . 

"  Rome  is,  in  the  literal  sense  of  the  word,  a 
repository  of  religious  monuments  ;  every  street, 
in  and  outside  of  the  walls,  is  filled  with  them, 
and  it  would  take  years  to  examine  them  in  de- 
tail. The  one  that  has  made  the  most  lasting 
impression  upon  me,  is  the  wonderful  church  of 
St.  Peter,  where  I  had  the  happiness  of  ofi*ering 
the  unbloody  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass  over  the 
bodies  of  St.  Peter  and  Paul,  in  the  underground 
•chapel.  The  whole  world  unanimously  acknowl- 
edges that  this  building  is  the  master-piece  of 
man's  genius  and  skill,  that  art  and  invention 
have  here  exhausted  themselves  on  this  ne  ])lus 
ultra  of  grandeur  and  beauty.  Next  in  beauty 
ranks  the  richly  adorned  Sancta  Maria  Mag- 
giore,  or  Our  Lady  of  Snow,  where  I  also  said 
Mass  in  a  chapel  under  ground,  before  the  Crib 
in  which  lay  our  Saviour.  Sta.  Maria  Rotunda, 
.so-called  because  the  church  is  built  in  a  round 


1816.]  LIFE  OF  EEV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  303 

shape,  is  the  Pantheon  of  the  old  Romans — that 
is,  the  repository  of  all  the  false  gods  of  unhappy 
paganism.  Here  was  the  seat  of  error;  with 
reason,  then,  did  Divine  Providence  enthrone  in 
its  place  that  truth  which  is  to  abide  forever. 
The  church  of  the  Portuguese  is  small ;  but  is  a 
gem  of  beauty  and  riches. 

"  I  pass  over  many  beautiful  churches,  palaces, 
(the  Vatican  and  other  magnificent  build- 
ings), aqueducts,  fountains,  amphitheaters,  col- 
umns, etc.,  etc.  Among  the  latter  the  Colonna 
Trajana  is  a  noteworthy  one :  it  is  surmounted 
by  a  statue  of  St.  Paul,  the  Apostle  beheaded 
by  the  sword  at  the  hands  of  men  eager  for 
honors,  money,  and  blood,  which  says  to  the 
looker-on  :  '  So  is  he  exalted  who  humbles  him- 
self for  Christ  and  his  doctrine.'  The  cata- 
combs, underground  burying-places,  where  by  the 
flickering  light  of  a  lamp  the  guide  points  out  to 
you  the  hollow  places  in  which  the  bodies  of  the 
great  confessors  and  martyrs  were  deposited ; 
where  the  followers  of  Christ,  to  escape  the  wrath 
of  the  tyrants,  hid  themselves  with  their  Popes 
and  priests,  and  celebrated  the  divine  mysteries, 
are  full  of  touching  remembrances.  Convents, 
colleges,  libraries,  hospitals,  academies,  mu- 
seums, where  I  admired  especially  the  instru- 
ments of  torture  invented  to  test  the  fortitude  of 
Martyrs,  and  in  consequence  the  truth  of  our 
religion,  all  these  furnish  abundant  material  for 
the  curiosity  and  piety  of  the  traveler,  and  too 
much  to  occupy  ourselves  any  longer  with  them. 


304  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1815- 

"  I  will  now  tell  you,  in  a  few  words,  how  I 
fared  in  Rome.     I  arrived  there  on    Thursday 
before  Passion  Week.     A  congregation  of  Cardi- 
nals was  held  at  the  Propaganda  the  next  Mon- 
day, and  it  pleased  the  Lord  that  the  business, 
the   documents  of  which    I  had  sent  last  year 
from  Kentucky,  was  just  brought  before  it  for 
solution.     After  the  session,  I  had  the  honor  of 
an  interview  with  one  of  the  Cardinals,  who  was 
so  kind  as  to  assure  me  that  the  congregation  of 
the   Propaganda  was  well  pleased  with  our  new 
institution,  the  '  Friends  of  Mary  at  the  Foot  of 
the  Cross,'  and  had  taken  it   under  its  special 
protection.     They  conceded  to  it  all  the  favors 
and  privileges  attached  to  the  Institution  of  the 
Seven  Dolors,  established  in  the  city  of  Rome. 
He  assured  me  that  the  difficulties  and  questions 
submitted    to    the  Congregation    would   be   an- 
swered soon,  that  my  work    was    approved   of, 
and  that  all  the  documents  would  reach  me  in 
Belaium  in  time  for  me  to  set  out  for  America 
before  Winter.     That  was  as  much  as  I   could 
wish, 

"  I  remained  in  Rome  about  six  weeks  longer, 
and  had  the  happiness  of  seeing  some  Cardinals, 
who  received  me  with  the  utmost  kindness,  not- 
withstanding my  poor  clothes  and  less  inviting 
exterior."  What  Father  Nerinckx  does  not 
tell,  is,  that  he  constantly  frequented  the  Gesu, 
and  that  the  air  of  sanctity  which  pervades 
Rome — that  religious  atmosphere  which  acts 
upon   all   who    come   under   its   influence,   and. 


1816.]         LIFE  OF  EEV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  305 

makes  the  great  and  good  of  other  climes,  like 
unto  exotic  flowers  acclimatized  to  and  en- 
hanced by  its  bright  sunbeams  and  emerald  sky, 
feel  a  new  life  course  through  their  veins — made 
the  old  missionary  priest  long  more  than  ever 
for  the  religious  life  of  the  cloister.  Our  au- 
thority for  this  statement  is  a  letter  from  a 
Roman  priest,  a  Jesuit  of  Sant'  Andrea  del 
Q.uirinale,  written  to  Rev,  Father  Grassi,  Su- 
perior of  the  Jesuits  of  North  America,  in 
which  he  says:  "We  possess,  just  now,  a  very 
holy  American  missionary — Father  IN'erinckx. 
He  wishes  to  become  a  Jesuit ;  but  it  is  deemed 
for  the  glory  of  God,  that  he  should  remain 
where  and  as  he  is."  This  last  endeavor  to 
reach  a  religious  sanctuary  seems  to  have  satis- 
fied the  missionary  that  he  really  was  where 
God  wanted  him,  and  he  spoke  of  it  no  more. 

"  During  my  stay  in  Rome,"  he  continues,  "  I 
was  told  that  the  College  of  the  Propaganda  had 
no  subjects  to  send  to  our  regions;  that  there 
was  question  of  erecting  a  new  diocese  in  Upper- 
Louisiana,  at  St.  Louis,  Illinois  Territory ;  that 
the  Coadjutor,  Bishop  Neale,  had  succeeded  Arch- 
bishop Carroll  in  the  See  of  Baltimore  ;  that  the 
very  worthy  Mr.  Marechal,  professor  at  the 
Seminary  of  Baltimore,  was  appointed  to  the 
Episcopal  See  of  Philadelphia,  etc. 

"  I  was  present  at  the  grand  ceremonies  of 
Easter  Sunday  in  the  cathedral  church  of  the 
world.     On  the  1st  of  May,  at  eight  p.  m.,  I  was,. 


:306  WFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.    [1815-16. 

together  with  three  other  gentlemen,  introduced 
to  the  Holy  Father  by  a  Prelate.  We  had  a 
most  friendly  audience,  and,  after  the  three 
•others  had  received  the  marks  of  a  fatherly  af- 
fection, I  mvself  was  favored  at  his  feet  with 
his  Apostolical  benediction  and  other  tokens  of 
tenderness."  His  Holiness,  having  already  per- 
sonally perused  the  rules  of  the  new  society,  was 
pleased  to  tell  him  of  the  joy  and  consolation 
the  institution  of  his  sisterhood  had  caused  him ; 
that  he  believed  some  portions  of  the  rules  too 
rigid  for  females,  and  thought  it  necessary  to 
have  some  changes  made  in  order  to  render  their 
observance  more  lasting,  adding  that  he  would 
see  to  it  that  the  changes  were  communicated  to 
him  in  writing  as  soon  as  practicable.  These, 
however,  were  not  sent  to  Kentucky  till  a  few 
years  later.  "  The  4th  of  May,  I  left  Rome,  and 
in  six  weeks  I  arrived  at  the  place  of  my  depar- 
ture," Brussels,  in  Belgium. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

1816. 

A  LETTER  FROM  BiSHOP  FlAGET  :  THE  LORETTO  INSTITUTION  A  SUC- 
CESS.— Father  Nerinckx'  appeal  to  his  Belgian  countrymen 
FOR  men  and  money. — Its  wonderful  effects. 

Father  Nerinckx  now  set  to  work  collect- 
ing alms,  ornaments,  holy  vessels,  etc.,  for  the 
missions.  We  will  have  occasion  to  enter  into  a 
more  detailed  account  of  this  very  successful  ap- 
peal to  the  generosity  of  his  countrymen.  Our 
readers  will  allow  us  to  complete  the  translation 
of  the  Flemish  pamphlet  addressed  by  Father 
Nerinckx  to  his  Belgian  friends,  in  August,  1816. 
It  has  perhaps  not  the  interest  which  a  closer 
narration  of  facts  might  possess ;  but,  were  it 
only  for  its  important  results,  the  omission  of 
this  rather  lengthy  appeal  of  the  missionary  for 
co-laborers  in  the  vineyard  of  the  Lord,  would  be 
unwarranted.  Many  Fathers  of  the  Society  of 
Jesus,  now  venerable  for  their  age  and  their 
labors  on  the  mission,  have  assured  us  that  they 
owed  their  vocation  to  the  reading  of  the  follow- 
ing pages,  and  this  forcible  plea  in  favor  of 
the  American  mission  was  the  instrument  in  the 

(307) 


308  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [1816. 

hands  of  Providence  to  bring  them  to  the  shores 
of  the  New  World. 

"At  my  return  home,"  continues  Father  JN'er- 
inckx,  "  I  found  a  letter  of  the  Right  Reverend 
Bishop  of  Kentucky,  a  few  extracts  of  which  I 
here  cojiy :  '  Your  letter  of  November  29,  181o, 
was  handed  to  me  the  2d  day  of  March 
(1816),  and  I  read  it  again  and  again  with  re- 
newed pleasure.  I  communicated  it  to  your 
l^ious  daughters,  who  were  highly  delighted 
with  it,  and  I  read  it  in  all  your  parishes,  where 
it  elicited  the  same  feelings  of  joy.  Everywhere 
I  had  public  prayers  to  thank  God  for  your 
happy  arrival,  and  to  ask  Him  to  grant  you  a 
speedy  and  safe  return.  All  the  reverend 
gentlemen  thank  you  for  your  kind  remem- 
brance, and  desire  me  to  be  the  interpreter  of 
their  good  wishes  for  your  welfare.  Your  good 
daughters  of  Loretto  continue  pious  and  full  of 
fervor ;  they  are,  at  the  same  time,  my  joy  and 
my  confusion.  .  .  .  Sister  Agnes  made  her 
vows  on  St.  Joseph's  day,  and  three  boarders 
have  been  admitted  to  their  iirst  communion. 
Those  ceremonies  have  made  a  very  salutary  im- 
pression. Three  young  novices  came  the  next 
day  to  beg  of  me  to  be  allowed  to  make  their 
vows  on  the  day  of  Annunciation.  There  are  at 
least  twenty-five  boarders,  all  of  excellent  dispo- 
sition ;  three  or  four  of  them  are  very  anxious 
to  receive  the  habit.  Applications  for  admis- 
sion are  received  from  every  direction,  and  I  am 
afraid   that,  after  Easter,  we   shall    have  more 


1816.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  309 

subjects  than  the  house  can  accommodate  or  sup- 
port. I  bought  old  Stephen  and  Dinah;  they 
cost  me  one  hundred  and  thirty  gourdes,  and 
they  render  valuable  services  to  the  house ; 
henceforth,  the  sisters  are  dispensed  from  cut- 
ting wood  and  carrying  it  to  the  yard.  ...  A 
Methodist  preacher  living  on  the  neighboring 
hill,  where  we  are  going  to  build  a  second  con- 
vent, has  forced  me  into  a  public  discussion. 
The  concourse  of  catholic  and  protestant  neigh- 
bors was  great.  The  good  God,  in  his  mercy, 
has  allowed  that  miserable  deceiver  to  be  loaded 
with  shame  and  contempt  even  by  those  of  his 
own  sect.'  The  letter  contains  some  minor  de- 
tails which  I  omit. 

"  They  expect  me  back  soon,  and,  if  it  de- 
pends on  me  alone,  I  will  soon  be  in  Kentucky. 
I  gather  the  little  provisions  as  fast  as  I  can, 
and  if  I  do  not  obtain  all  that  we  expected  or 
are  in  need  of,  I  trust,  however,  that  my  journey 
will  not  have  been  undertaken  in  vain.  My 
mission  ad  limina  apostolorum  was  a  duty,  and 
that  is  fulfilled.  The  institution  is  approved  of; 
instructions  are  obtained ;  difficulties  are  an- 
swered; spiritual  favors,  relics,  etc.,  are  re- 
ceived; some  necessary  books  and  ornaments 
are  in  my  possession ;  Rome  is  somewhat  con- 
soled ;  and  the  curiosity  of  friends  and  country- 
men is  somewhat  satisfied,  or  perhaps  more  ex- 
cited than  ever. 

"  Catholic  Belgium  has  the  enviable  reputa- 
tion, in  Rome  itself,  of  being,  for  the  last  thirty 


310  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [ISIG. 

years,  the  vanguard  of  the  church  against  all  the 
heretical  and  philosophical  innovations  of  these 
times.  St.  Francis  Xavier  expressed  a  decided 
wish  of  having  Belgians  for  his  East  India  mis- 
sions, and  obtained  some  of  decided  merit.  I  am 
obliged  to  be  satisfied  with  the  want  of  them.  I 
learned  with  pleasure  that  during  my  absence  in 
Rome,  three  of  our  neighborhood  (environs  of 
Ninove)  left  to  join  the  Jesuits  in  Georgetown, 
and  that  the  Bishop  of  New  Orleans  succeeded 
in  obtaining  some  in  Italy  and  France ;  but  how 
little  will  he  notice  these  few  drops  in  our  vast 
ocean !  I  have  done  what  I  could  to  induce 
some  priests  to  accompany  me,  and  my  con- 
science is  at  rest.  May  God  dispose  all  things 
according  to  his  holy  will ! 

"Allow  me,  however,  to  present  a  few  observa- 
tions to  some  of  my  acquaintances  and  friends, 
who,  full  of  faith,  yet  betrayed  some  alarm  when 
they  became  aware  of  my  desire  of  taking  along^ 
some  Belgian  priests  to  work  in  our  deserted 
missions  of  America.  Their  conduct,  I  allow, 
proceeds  from  a  great  attachment  to  Religion 
and  from  a  laudable  desire  to  save  souls  at  home  ; 
but  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  their  charity,  which 
should  extend  to  all,  is  rather  too  limited.  They 
object  that  those  laborers  are  also  needed  in 
Belgium ;  indeed  they  are,  and  very  much  so ! 
I  remember  the  happy  times  when  Belgium  had 
ten  evangelical  laborers  to  the  one  of  to-day ; 
and  men,  at  that,  who  were  animated  with  zeal ; 
adorned  with  the  most  solid  piety,  doctrine,  and 


1816.]         LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  311 

learning;  men  of  influence,  commanding  re- 
spect, giving  public  edification,  thirsting  early 
and  late,  as  did  the  Apostles,  for  the  salvation 
of  souls ;  and  they  were  helped  most  generously 
by  noble  auxiliary  armies  of  religious,  led  and 
encouraged  by  heroic  Bishops,  who  went  through 
all  the  trials  of  persecution,  and  were  surrounded 
by  counselors  able  to  fill  with  honor  important 
episcopal  Sees.  Then  did  countless  religious  in- 
stitutions flourish,  whence  morality,  virtue,  and 
piety  flowed,  as  through  so  many  channels,  out 
to  the  multitude.  In  those  happy  times,  no  one 
found  that  the  number  of  priests  w^as  too  great 
except  those  whose  heart  was  corrupted,  to  whom 
the  yoke  of  religion,  that  is  of  God  himself,  had 
become  a  burden,  and  who  had  not  courage 
enough  to  fight  the  world,  after  the  example  of 
the  Author  of  our  faith  ;  or  who,  slaves  to  their 
passions,  pride,  and  avarice,  were  already  in  a 
fair  way  to  despise  alike  God,  his  religion,  and 
his  ministers.  Hence  I  do  not  wonder  at  those 
objections  of  to-day,  which,  if  they  were  true  in 
those  times,  must  surely  be  true  now,  and  will 
likely  always  exist 

"  But  tell  me  candidly  :  Is  there  a  christian  in 
our  land,  who,  if  he  sincerely  tried,  could  not  ap- 
proach the  Holy  Sacraments  every  month  ?  Is 
there  one,  who,  owing  to  the  want  of  priests,  is 
obliged  to  leave  this  world  without  the  rites  of 
the  church  ?  Where  is  the  child  to  be  found, 
who  has  to  sigh  without  baptism  in  the  slavery 
of  the  devil,  even  for  three  days  ?    Where  is  the 


312  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [1816. 

pastor  or  priest  who,  when  he  rises  in  the  morn- 
ing, can  not  travel  from  one  end  of  his  parish  to 
the  other  before  the  evening  of  the  same  day  ? 
Who  is  there  in  any  portion  of  our  Netherlands 
who  can  not,  if  he  wishes  it,  see  his  pastor  and 
talk  to  him  twice  in  the  day  ?  Is  that  the  case 
in  America  ?  Ah !  would  to  God  it  were  so ! 
Alas !  Not  to  speak  of  other  regions  of  that 
vast  continent,  in  my  mission,  a  man  coming  on 
a  sick  call  from  my  congregation  of  the  Sacred 
Hearts,  has  to  travel  every  day  between  forty 
and  fifty  miles  on  horseback  for  four  days,  ere 
he  can  reach  my  cabin  at  St.  Charles ;  and  if  I 
am  at  home  (for,  many  a  time,  other  calls  and 
occupations  keep  me  away),  we  have  to  ride  an- 
other four  days  to  see  if  the  sick  person  has  suc- 
ceeded in  struggling  against  death  for  a  whole 
week.  The  distances  to  St.  James',  St.  Rumol- 
dus',  St.  Teresa's,  etc.,  are  from  three  to  four, 
five,  and  six  days'  travel  back  and  forth.  To 
pay  one  single  visit  to  each  one  of  my  congrega- 
tions, and  remain  three  or  four  days  in  each 
station,  which  is  only  a  short  stop  considering 
the  circumstances  and  the  needs  of  the  people, 
I  have  to  spend  six  weeks  on  the  road  without 
taking  a  day's  rest,  devoting  the  whole  time  to 
travel,  hearing  confessions,  instruction,  and  ad- 
ministration of  the  sacraments.  I  merely  men- 
tion how  I  am  situated,  because  I  know  what 
labors  devolve  upon  myself;  my  brother  priests 
are  not  better  ofi'.     ... 

"  I  just  now  met  my  brother,  who  is  in  the 


1816.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  313 

holy  ministry  in  London,  after  having  been  sep- 
arated from  him  by  persecution  and  exile 
for  nineteen  years.  He  is  asked  to  try  and  find 
some  priests  who  have  commiseration  enough  to 
go  and  help  our  abandoned  brethren  of  the  Cape 
of  Grood  Hope  and  Grenada,  one  of  the  Antilles 
Islands.  The  jurisdiction  over  these  missions 
devolves  upon  the  Bishop  of  London,  and  the 
English  government  pays  for  the  missionary's 
traveling  expenses.  In  that  region,  twenty  thou- 
sand catholics  are  without  a  single  j^riest,  and 
with  heavy  hearts  call  for  help,  and  entreat 
some  one  to  go  and  take  care  of  them." 

Father  Nerinckx  here  relates  the  Pittsburg 
incident,  which  we  mentioned  in  the  previous 
chapter,  and  continues : 

"What  think  you,  my  dear  friends?  Con- 
sidering the  position  of  your  fellow-men  and  of - 
him  who  comes  in  the  name  of  them  all  to  en- 
treat of  you  one  priest  out  of  a  hundred,  that  he 
may  prevent,  by  coming  to  their  help,  these  dy- 
ing sheep,  among  whom  are  so  many  pleading  and 
starving  lambs,  from  losing,  for  all  eternity, 
their  '  precious  soul  in  the  throat  of  a  devouring 
wolf,'  is  it  in  accordance  with  christian  charity 
to  prevent  that  one  from  coming?  Nay,  is  it 
consistent  with  charity  to  try  to  limit  the  num- 
ber of  those  who  are  willing  to  come  ?  Is  true 
and  sincere  charity,  like  that  of  Him  who  has 
made  all  souls  His  at  the  price  of  His  blood  and 
loved  them  all  alike — Americans  and  Indians, 


314  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1816. 

as  well  as  Belgians — is  true  and  sincere  charity 
without  meaning  when  it  says:  'I  love  my 
neighbor  as  myself  for  the  love  of  Thee?'  Is 
that,  I  ask  it  once  more,  is  that  being  animated 
with  the  true  christian  spirit  for  the  increase  of 
the  kingdom  of  God  and  the  salvation  of  souls  ? 
Is  it  to  be  tolerated,  to  envy  or  to  deny  to 
thousands  a  mouthful  of  bread  in  the  far  distant 
missions,  for  fear  of  suffering  want  when  we  are 
more  than  satiated  at  home?  That  many  in 
the  Netherlands  despise  the  spiritual  food  to-day, 
is  a  sad  truth.  Were  these  our  friends  com- 
pelled to  come  and  share  in  America  the  aban- 
donment of  our  catholics  for  only  three  years, 
do  you  think  that,  at  the  time  of  a  contagious 
disease,  they  would  not  dare  to  ask  a  priest  of 
the  Netherlands  to  come  to  their  help  for  fear 
of  depriving  their  own  country  of  spiritual  as- 
sistance ?  Oh  no!  .  .  .  If  such  had  been 
the  case  at  the  time  of  SS.  Amandus,  Wille- 
brordus,  Rumoldus,  Livinus,  etc.,  what  would 
Belgium  be  to-day  ? 

"  There  is,  in  my  way  of  thinking,  a  reason  to 
fear  the  loss  of  the  gift  of  faith,  when  we  neg- 
lect to  procure  it  to  others,  or  to  work  to  give 
them  the  same  advantages  we  enjoy.  Cuilibef 
Dens  mandavit  de  proximo  siio,  '  God  has  given 
every  one  charge  of  his  neighbor,'  is  not  an  ex- 
pression without  meaning.  When  I  attended 
the  Concursus,  we  had  to  prove  that  this  duty 
could  bind  us  under  pain  of  mortal  sin ;  and  I 
would  like  to  know  if  it  could  bind  more  strictly 


1816.]  LIFE  OF  EEV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  315 

than  in  the  present  case  ?  It  is  unnecessary  to 
write  a  vohime  of  divine  sayings,  counsels,  com- 
mands, and  examples,  which  leave  us  without 
an  excuse  for  neglecting  to  go  to  the  rescue  of 
these  the  most  abandoned  of  all  our  brethren. 
To  refuse  them  that  help,  seems  to  me  to  call  for 
divine  vengeance";  such  a  refusal  is  stamped 
with  the  seal  of  the  blackest  ingratitude  toward 
Christ  who  came  to  save  us  all,  and  of  the  most 
barbarous  cruelty  toward  these  catholics,  who, 
without  our  help,  run  the  risk  of  their  eternal 
salvation.  And,  were  it  gone  so  far — from 
which  I  pray  a  merciful  God  will  preserve 
us — that  the  Netherlanders  had  oifended  the  so 
justly  incensed  Lord  so  much,  that  the  loss  of 
faith  is  unavoidable,  will  half  a  dozen  more  or 
less  laborers  avert  the  impending  storm? 
Would  it  not,  perhaps,  be  good  policy  to  let  a 
few  go  elsewhere,  there  to  form  a  small  seminary 
for  the  coming  need?  He  who  compares  the 
present  times  with  the  past,  will  easily  perceive 
that  our  holy  religion  is  threatened  more  than 
ever ;  more  weight  may  make  the  balance  swing 
the  other  way.  If,  and  I  hope  it  from  God's 
mercy,  you  keep  your  faith  without  any  merits 
of  your  own,  will  you  feel  aggrieved  because  you 
helped  to  promote  the  cause  of  religion  and  b) 
keep  it  up  in  far  distant  countries  ?  And,  if  you 
lose  the  faith,  will  it  be  of  any  benefit  to  you, 
that  with  you,  and  perhaps  through  you,  our 
abandoned  regions  shared  with  you  this  most 
unhappy  lot?     When   I  meet  with  persons  in 


316  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1816. 

want,  I  always  feel  more  kindly  -  toward  those 
who  generously  share  with  others  the  alms  they 
received.  In  our  case,  such  a  course  would,  in 
my  humble  opinion,  be  most  agreeable  to  Grod : 
a  goodly  part  left  to  our  friends  of  the  Nether- 
lands, and  a  mite  for  our  American  brethren. 

"  If  I  appear  to  dwell  on  this  matter  longer 
than  I  ought  to,  his  Lordship,  the  Bishop  of 
London,  who  told  my  brother  that  he  enter- 
tained a  preference  for  Netherlanders  for  his  mis- 
sion, will  partly  be  my  justification.  This  is 
surely  flattering  to  our  national  character.  Yet 
it  serves  not  my  purpose,  and  my  friends  are  too 
easily  alarmed  at  the  prospect  of  seeing  our 
clergy  emigrate  in  a  body  to  the  American  mis- 
sions ;  for,  up  to  this  day,  August  7,  1816,  I  did 
not  succeed  in  prevailing  upon  a  single  priest  to 
devote  himself  to  the  work.  To  be  sure,  some 
seem  to  pity  our  position  and  to  deplore  the  suf- 
ferings of  the  people  under  our  care  ;  but  pity 
does  not  help  us  any. 

"  The  usual  objections  are :  Old  age,  lack  of 
vocation,  want  of  talents,  ignorance  of  the  lan- 
guage, the  wants  at  home,  want  of  money  for 
the  journey,  their  present  position,  etc.,  etc. 
Old  age^  together  with  bodily  infirmities,  is  surely 
an  obstacle  to  go  through  much  fatigue,  although 
I  have  many  a  time  seen  an  iron  will  and  real 
fervor  an  efficient  help  to  overcome  the  infirmi- 
ties of  old  age.  For  instance,  years  ago,  I  met, 
in  our  Concursus  at  Mechlin,  many  an  old  man 
who  would   most  willingly  have  put  his  weak 


1816.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  317 

shoulders  under  the  heavy  burden  of  a  tolerably 
difficult  and  extensive  parish.     The  Archbishop 
of  Mechlin  at  eighty-two,  and  the  Archbishop  of 
Paris  at  ninety-two  years  of  age,  were  not  afraid 
of  undertaking  the  direction  of  these  dioceses 
with  the  fervor  of  youth  !     Vocation,  so  necessary 
and  essential  in  the  ministry  of  the  ecclesiastical 
state,  should  indeed  not  be  wanting  to  such  an 
undertaking ;  hence,  it  is  very  necessary  to  ex- 
amine it.     Neglect  of  this  precaution  is  perhaps 
the  cause  of  the  universal  ruin  wherewith  the 
world  is  threatened.     I  myself  will  deplore,  in  a 
strange  land  for  the  rest  of  my  days,  my  too 
great  boldness  in  that  respect.     But  would  my 
friends   allow   me   to   ask,  whether   they  knew 
many  candidates  who,  before  accepting  a  posi- 
tion,   be   it   clerical   or   civil,    in   this    country, 
made  the  reservation  :   '  Si  sim  vocatus,'  I  will  ac- 
cept if  I  am  called  to  it  ?    Is  that  practically  the 
sine    qua   non   of    those  who    are   ready   to  fill 
places  becoming  vacant  ?     I  am  afraid,  and  not 
without  reason,  that  by  far  too  little  time  is  con- 
secrated to  a  conscientious  examination  of  that 
matter.     I  can  hardly  understand  how  so  many 
hundreds,  nay,  thousands,  to  whom  the  ite,  docete 
om7ies  f/entes,  go  and  teach  all  nations,  has  been 
so  forcibly — and  surely  not  without  a  purpose — 
addressed  by  a  lawful  authority,  pretend  to  ful- 
'  fill  its  obligations  within  the  narrow  limits  of  the 
Netherlands.     Those  who   examined,    knew,   or 
fulfilled  their  calling  less  well,  could  do  worse 
than  try  to  remedy  this  defect  witli  me,  by  fit- 


318  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1816. 

ting  themselves  as  thoroughly  as  time  and  tal- 
ents will  permit,  to  solace,  with  the  Samaritan, 
our  sorely  wounded  brethren  in  those  regions 
where  priest  or  levite  can  not  or  will  not  come. 
Our  labors,  our  voluntary  privations,  our  sweat, 
mixed  with  a  tear  over  our  former  deficiencies, 
may  serve  as  wine  and  oil  for  their  cure ;  we 
may  so  secure  our  true  vocation,  and  make  up 
for  or  rectify  a  doubtful  calling. 

"As  far  as  want  of  talents  is  concerned,  it  is  a 
sure  remedy  against  vain  glory,  allows  truth  to 
shine  in  a  stronger  light,  and  vindicates  the 
power  and  wisdom  of  Him  in  whose  name  the 
missionary  works.  Grreat  talents  were  not  the 
main  supply  of  the  twelve  first  founders  of 
catholicity ;  even  now-a-days,  they  do  not  work 
miracles  in  the  apostolical  calling ;  a  true  voca- 
tion, zeal,  humility,  and  the  thorough  practice  of 
the  virtues  of  our  state,  are  no  less  fit  instruments 
in  the  hands  of  the  promoter  of  the  Grospel. 
Are  talents  a  real  necessity  ?  If  so,  it  becomes 
my  duty  to  resign  immediately  my  charge, 
which  I  accepted  without  talents  ;  for,  willing  or 
not,  I  am  forced  to  acknowledge  that  I  have 
none,  and,  what  is  more,  I  ask  for  none  if  it  is 
the  will  of  Grod  that  I  remain  without  any. 

"Allow  me  to  notice  one  more  objection,  upon 
which  many  seem  to  lay  great  stress.  They  ap- 
prehend that,  in  those  American  regions,  our 
holy  religion  is  in  danger  of  meeting,  some  day 
or  other,  and  perhaps  very  soon,  the  same  diffi- 
culties and  persecutions,  under  the  pressure  of 


1816.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  319 

which  it  has  been  sighing  at  home.  I  can  not 
foresee  what  God,  in  the  secret  of  his  judgments, 
will  allow.  I  know,  however,  that  the  church 
militant  has  to  follow  up  her  victories  unto  the 
utmost  boundaries  of  the  earth  ;  and  that  wher- 
ever she  is  attacked,  she  enters  upon  the  task 
without  fear  for  the  future,  under  the  shadow  of 
the  cross  of  Him  who  is  with  her  and  protects 
her.  Or  do  those  friends  claim  for  our  holy  re- 
ligion a  peace  that  should  never  be  interfered 
with  ?  What,  then,  would  become  of  the  many 
promises  which  her  Founder  left  her  by  his  last 
will  as  so  many  legacies  and  codicils?  More- 
over, granting  that  our  holy  church  will  soon  be 
persecuted  in  America,  would  our  numerous 
catholics  be  less  in  want  of  priests ;  or  would 
the  priest  be  less  bound  to  stand  by  them  under 
such  difficult  circumstances  ?  But,  they  retort, 
were  such  a  thing  to  happen,  it  would  be  impos- 
sible to  work !  .  .  .  The  answer  is  obvious. 
For  hundreds  of  3'ears,  the  enemies  of  the  early 
church  left  no  means  untried  to  interfere  with 
the  priests'  work :  modern  heresies  and  apos- 
tasies have  improved  upon  these  vexations  of 
olden  times  ;  we  ourselves  have  seen  preferment 
given  to  those  who  were  most  successful  in 
thwarting  the  priests'  ministry.  Did  Grod  aban- 
don his  church  in  the  midst  of  all  those  inimical 
schemes  ?  No !  Veritas  Domini  manet  in  ceternum, 
'the  truth  of  the  Lord  remaineth  forever!' 
That  there  are  and  always  will  be  difficulties  to 
contend  with  in  the  missions,  I  know  by  experi- 


S20  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [1816. 

ence ;  in  fact,  they  are  so  many  and  great,  that 
I  persist  hopefully  in  doing  all  I  can  to 
bring  others,  who  can  cope  with  them  better 
than  I  can  myself,  to  join  me.  But,  to  speak  of 
the  present  state  of  aif^xirs  in  America,  I  do 
know  this  much,  that  our  holy  religion  is  no- 
where less  interfered  with  than  there.  We 
write  to  Rome  and  receive  rescripts  from  the 
Eternal  City  without  any  body  daring  to  touch 
or  look  at  the  papers,  of  whatever  description 
they  may  be.  We  have  public  processions  and 
celebrations ;  we  wear  religious  regalia  and  or- 
nament streets ;  we  give  the  sacraments  or  re- 
fuse them ;  we  perform  burials  or  refuse  that 
sacred  rite ;  we  admit  converts  to  the  church  or 
reject  public  sinners  ;  we  forgive  or  impose  pub- 
lic penances  of  all  kinds ;  we  build  convents, 
erect  schools,  buy  and  sell  lands,  etc.,  etc.,  with- 
out any  body  interfering  or  pretending  a  right 
to  interfere  but  our  Bishop.  We  write,  we 
speak,  we  preach  what  and  where  we  please. 
In  vain  would  the  enemies  of  the  church  enter 
complaint  against  us  in  civil  courts ;  the  law  is 
deaf  in  religious  matters.  We  are  free  from 
spies  and  informers,  who  are  neither  paid  nor 
encouraged  to  do  their  dirty  work  as  they  are  at 
home.  Who  can  wish  for  greater  liberty  ?  But 
how  long  will  it  last  ?  Perhaps  as  long  as  we 
will,  and  here  end  our  duties.  This  government 
will  and  must  experience  the  general  vicissi- 
tudes of  all  others ;  the  rise  and  fall  of  king- 
di3ms,  like  that  of  families,  cities,  and  countries, 


1816.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  321 

will  go  on  until  the  end  of  time ;  but  our  rule  of 
action  must  be  in  keeping  with  the  times  we 
live  in,  and  for  that  alone  we  stand  responsible. 
God  wants  neither  our  advice  nor  our  help  to  ad- 
just the  future. 

"It  is  hardly  necessary  to  answer  further  ob- 
jections ;  the  poorest  of  intellects  can  overthrow 
them  all.  I  only  wish  I  met  with  as  much  good 
will  and  determination  as  ability ! 

"  Poor  me !  I  have  then  to  leave  a^'ain  Eu- 
rope,  or  at  least  the  Netherlands,  without  a  sin- 
gle companion ;  and,  for  a  little  while  longer, 
work  to  the  best  of  my  poor  abilities  in  a  small 
corner  of  the  vineyard  of  the  Lord  !  I  have  to 
carry  to  my  and  your  brothers  of  these  regions, 
the  cruel  tidings  that  they  are  left  to  die  of 
spiritual  starvation  ;  that  thousands  of  their  kin 
are  doomed  to  be  of  the  innumerable  crowd  upon 
which  an  eternal  and  unquenching  fire  will  prey 
and  exhaust  its  rage  !  And  if  these  poor  people 
ask  me,  whether  there  was  no  one  among  my 
countrymen,  so  famous  for  piety  and  zeal,  who 
could  or  would  extend  a  helping  hand  to  preserve 
them  from  that  direful  evil,  what  shall  I  an- 
swer? Alas!  acknowledge  that  no  one  would, 
is  hard  and  shameful ;  assert  that  no  one  could, 
is  neither  true  nor  credible.  But  what  if  the- 
Master  of  the  Vineyard  asks  me  and  urges  me : 
'  Why  are  you  alone  ?  Why  no  one  with  you  ? 
Why  have  I  only  such  a  good  for  nothing  ser- 
vant as  you  are  ?  Where  are  they  whom  I  have 
enriched  with  adequate  talents,  whom   I   have 


^22  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [1816. 

prepared  for  the  noble  and  difficult  work  of  this 
the  abandoned  part  of  my  vineyard  by  lengthy 
instructions,  unusual  trials,  and  experience  ? 
Did  they  forget  the  covenant  which  they  re- 
newed so  often,  of  consecrating  themselves  en- 
tirelv  to  me  as  I  belong  entirely  to  them  ?  Do 
they  j)retend  to  love  me  only  with  the  lips  when 
I  nourish,  console,  and  satiate  them ;  to  refuse 
me  even  one  drop  of  sweat,  when  they  sacrifice  so 
lavishly  my  life-blood  and  make  me  die  a  thou- 
sand deaths  ?  Or  do  they  not  know  the  aban- 
donment that  oppresses  me,  afflicted  as  I  am  by 
the  sight  of  thousands  who  are  ruthlessly  taken 
away  from  me  to  be  buried  in  a  sea  of  misery, 
iind  to  load  me  for  all  eternity  with  injuries  and 
blasphemies  ?  '  Again,  what  can  I  answer  to  the 
Lord  ?  Oh  !  that  I  were  a  Francis  Xavier !  I 
would  fill  our  limitless  wilderness  with  howls 
and  shrieks,  I  would  s^orinkle  the  earth  with 
bloody  tears,  I  would  unceasingly  strike  my 
Ibreast,  and  in  my  anguish  make  known  to  God 
himself  my  complaints,  expecting,  drowned  in 
sorrow,  some  consolation  from  on  high !  .  .  . 
"  But  I  forget  myself.  I  only  intended  to 
write  a  short  letter  as  a  long  farewell.  I  beg 
jour  pardon,  dear  friends  ;  it  costs  me  too  much 
to  dismiss  this  matter,  when  I  picture  to  my 
mind  that  awful  day  when  those  miserable  ]yeo- 
pie  will  stand  in  throngs  to  the  left  with  the 
scum  of  the  damned,  perhaps,  in  their  despair, 
accusing  between  their  sobs  and  gnashing  of 
teeth  these  anointed  of  the  Lord,  who  now  re- 


1816.]         LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  323 

fuse  their  help  without  sufficient  reason,  and  hiy- 
ing  at  their  door  their  everlasting  misery  and 
privation  of  eternal  happiness  !  Ah  !  would  to 
God  that  my  but  too  just  complaints  had  some 
effect  upon  half  a  dozen  of  commiserating 
hearts ! 

"  I  had  conceived  the  idea  of  an  undertaking 
which  would  have  fostered  missionary  zeal  in 
our  land,  viz  :  the  establishment  of  a  missionary 
institute  which  would  have  a  house  here  and  one 
in  America.  But  I  see  no  chance  of  success.  I 
intend  to  hiy  before  you  its  objects,  location,  and 
means  of  support,  in  fact  the  whole  plan,  so  soon 
as  circumstances  favor  the  project.  The  society 
would  be  composed  of  young  men  from  the  dif- 
ferent seminaries,  and  other  priests  volunteer- 
ing, to  the  number,  say,  of  ten  or  twenty,  who 
would  undertake  missionary  work  for  a  period 
of  eight  or  twelve  years,  alternately  on  the  home 
and  foreign  missions.  This  plan  might  prove  ac- 
ceptable to  such  as  would  be  willing  to  exercise 
this  most  difficult  ministry  not  for  a  lifetime, 
but  for  a  limited  period. 

"  Obliged  to  forego  for  a  time  these  most 
pleasing  hopes,  I  will  now  turn  my  energies  to 
smaller  means  of  good,  which,  however  insignifi- 
cant, may  perhaps  prove  useful.  If,  however, 
some  few,  touched  by  the  grace  of  God,  desired 
to  devote  themselves  to  the  foreign  missions,  af- 
ter I  am  gone  ;  persons  will  be  found  in  different 
Belgian  cities,  in  Brussels,  Antwerp,  Ghent, 
Mechlin,   Bruges,    Thienen,    Dendermonde,   Ni- 


324  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [IS  16. 

nove,  and  especially  in  Louvain,  who  will  give 
them  full  directions,  and  tell  them  how  and 
where  to  address  themselves  in  America  to 
make  known  their  intention.  Baltimore,  Phila- 
delphia, New  York,  and  Boston  are  the  most 
important  seaports  to  which  communications 
may  be  forwarded.  We  of  Kentucky  have  few 
commercial  relations  with  Boston,  more  with 
Philadelphia,  but  especially  with  Baltimore. 
The  latter  port  would  prove  the  best  landing  for 
persons  and  luggage,  as  all  necessary  informa- 
tion and  further  directions  may  be  had  from  the 
Archbishop  or  at  the  Seminary.  Traveling 
and  freight  expenses  are  heavy.  The  three 
gentlemen  who  left  Antwerp  last  May,  had  to 
pay  fifty  crowns  for  the  trip  in  the  caj^tain's 
cabin,  which  is  twice  as  expensive  as  it  used  to 
be.  Amsterdam  aifords  more  and  better  oppor- 
tunities to  go  to  Baltimore,  and  I  think  that 
from  that  port  a  person  could  reach  Kentucky 
at  an  outlay  of  a  thousand  of  our  guilders,  no  un- 
toward circumstances  increasing  the  expenses. 
Of  course,  he  who  comes  must  have  good  testi- 
monial letters  from  his  Bishop.  But  passports 
are  unnecessary  in  America,  where  you  meet 
with  far  less  trouble  on  your  travels  than  here. 
I  did  not  meet  with  as  much  incivility,  during 
my  eleven  years'  stay  in  America,  as  I  had  to 
endure  in  the  public  conveyances  of  these 
Netherlands  on  two  short  Journeys  from  one 
city  to  another.  In  America,  people  respect  one 
another  and  behave  like  gentlemen ;  loose  con- 


1816.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  325 

versations  and  blasphemies  are  only  indulged  in 
by  blackguards  and  the  low-bred,  as  they  are 
called.*  Never  could  I  have  believed  that  pub- 
lic morality  could  have  been  lowered  to  such  a 
degree  of  corruption  in  our  JS'etherlands. 

"  The  distance  from  Antwerp  or  Amsterdam 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Chesapeake  Bay  is  about 
three  thousand  five  hundred  miles ;  the  bay, 
from  its  mouth  to  Baltimore,  measures  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty  miles  ;  another  journey  of  seven 
hundred  miles,  by  Pittsburg,  brings  you  to  Ken- 
tucky, where  we  reside.  N"ow-a-days  good 
inns  and  relays  are  to  be  found  all  along  the 
road.  In  favorable  weather,  Kentucky  may  be 
reached  in  less  than  three  months ;  but  it  takes 
sometimes  four,  five,  and  six  months.  Spring 
is  the  most  favorable  time  of  the  year.  As  a 
remedy  against  sea-sickness,  and  most  conducive 
to  health,  I  advise  a  cathartic  before  going  to 
sea ;  have  also  a  small  supply  of  wine,  lemons, 
etc.  Lemons  and  vinegar  tea  I  find  best  against 
that  very  annoying  but  seldom  dangerous  dis- 
ease— sea-sickness.  Also  take  a  supply  of  fish 
for  abstinence  days,  and  make  a  special  contract 
with  the  captain  to  have  it  prepared  for  you; 
butter  is  also  seldom  to  be  had  on  board.  Life 
on  the  ship  is  hard,  tiresome,  and  disagreeable. 
I  generally  keep  on  deck,  whenever  practicable, 
and  have  some  books  to  pass  the  time  more 
pleasantly.  I  would  also  advise  you  to  have  a 
good  supply  of   linen ;   frequent  change   of  rai- 

*  0  tempora,  0  mores ! 


326  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  XERINCKX.  [1816. 

ment  will  protect  you  against  that  plague  of 
ships,  vermin,  which  powders  and  salves  will 
more  effectually  keep  away  from  you. 

"  Those  who  can  not  help  us  with  their  person 
or  substance  are  earnestly  requested  to  give  us 
at  least  the  help  of  their  prayers,  good  works, 
and  sacrifices ;  this  was,  in  former  times,  the 
wav  reliorious,  who  also  offered  themselves  for  the 
work,  acted.  The  great  Francis  Xavier  refers 
the  fruit  of  his  labors  to  the  prayers,  etc.,  of 
others  ;  and,  if  it  is  not  out  of  place  to  speak  of 
myself,  I  am  not  afraid  to  assert  that  I  obtained 
most  signal  benefits  from  the  Rosary  Society  of 
little  children.  It  is  made  up  of  children  who 
are  not  over  seven  years  of  age,  and  have,  in 
consequence,  because  of  their  baptismal  inno- 
cence, retained  the  right  to  be  heard.  I  en- 
rolled in  it  more  than  five  hundred  children,  who 
daily  prostrate  themselves  before  the  throne  of 
God  to  implore  his  mercy.  Of  the  aim  and 
manner  of  that  devotion,  I  intend  to  treat  else- 
where. .  .  .  Let  some  pious  souls  here  in 
the  Netherlands  club  together  in  a  similar  man- 
ner, or,  if  they  desire  to  unite  themselves  with 
us  and  practice  this  devotion  as  it  is  done  in  our 
regions,  sufiice  it  to  know  that  the  main  object 
of  our  devotion  is  Jesus  dying  and  His  sorrow- 
ing Mother  at  the  foot  of  the  cross.  Our  new 
little  convent  of  Loretto  is  so  partial  to  that  de- 
votion, that,  although  the  sisters  and  scholars 
keep  silence  the  whole  day  with  the  exception 
of  half  an  hour  after  dinner,  they  all  assemble 


1816.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  327 

in  spirit  at  the  foot  of  the  cross  every  half-hour 
of  the  day  until  bed-time,  and  to  the  aspiration 
of  the  leader,  '  0  Suffering  Jesus  /'  all  the  others 
answer,    '0  Sorrowful  Mary  /'     The  devotions  to 
the    Suifering   Jesus,  to   His    Sacred  Heart,  to 
Mary  his  Blessed  Mother,  are  the  choicest  of  our 
our  religion.    Our  faith  began  with  the  preaching 
of  Jesus,  and  Him  crucified  ;  and  it  is  likely  that 
neglect   of  piety  toward   the   sufferings  of  our 
Lord,  is  in  no  small  degree  the  cause  that,  in  our 
days,  'with  desolation  is  all  land  made  desolate.' 
Ah !  if  every  priest  and  minister  of  the  Gospel 
with  his  parishioners,  masters,  and  mistresses 
with    their   pupils,    fathers    and   mothers   with 
their  household,  only  seriously  meditated  half  an 
hour  in  the  week  on  the  sufferings  which   the 
Son  of  God  so  willingly  underwent  for  our  sake, 
how  deep  would  not   that   dying  Redeemer  be 
imprinted  in  the  hearts  of  all  these  good  chris- 
tians !     Could  it  then  be  possible  that  our  great 
God,  how  much  soever  displeased,  would  reject  any 
of  us,  if  the  image  of  Him,  in  whom  he  takes 
all  his  delight,  were  stamped  on  the  soul  of  the 
afflicted  sinner  who  loudly  prays  for  persever- 
ance in  virtue  and  for  deliverance  from  evil  ?     I 
recommend,  then,  this  devotion  to  all  my  rela- 
tions, for  the  preservation  of  the  Holy  Roman 
Catholic  Religion  in  their  families.     And  let  me 
also  add  the  further  advice,  which  I  myself  al- 
ways tried  to  practice,  to  cling  steadfastly  to  the 
Head  of  the  church — the  Pope  of  Rome ;  to  ac- 
cept his  decisions  as  the  words  of  Him  whose 


328  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCXX.  [1816. 

place  he  fills,  notwithstanding  all  the  subter- 
fuges which  cunning  or  ill-will  may  invent. 
There  never  sprung  up  an  error  or  heresy  of 
which  the  Pope  was  the  head  ;  never  will  there 
be  true  faith  where  the  Pope  is  not  at  the  head. 
A  prayer  for  the  Pope  should  be  among  our 
daily  practices. 

"  Rendering  now  heartfelt  thanks  to  all  my 
relations,  to  all  my  esteemed  friends  and  acquaint- 
ances, for  their  kind  reception,  for  favors  and 
benefits  received,  either  through  personal  affec- 
tion or  because  of  my  mission,  I  bid  them  an  af- 
fectionate farewell,  leaving  them  my  wishes  for 
the  choicest  blessings  of  heaven  upon  them  all, 
and  for  their  perfect  prosperity  in  time  and  eter- 
nity. With  the  help  of  God's  grace,  I  will  carry 
with  me  across  the  Atlantic  ocean  and  through 
the  States  of  Maryland,  Pennsylvania,  Virginia, 
and  Ohio,  the  remembrance  of  your  virtues  and 
kind  deeds  down  to  Kentucky,  there  to  be  set 
down  as  examples  worthy  of  imitation  for  all  fu- 
ture times  and  generations.  Long  rest  and 
greater  prosperity  to  my  native  land !  A  long 
farewell !  Dear  friends,  I  embrace  you  all  in 
the  Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus  !  .  .  .  Farewell !  un- 
til we  meet  in  the  valley  of  Josaphat!  Fare- 
well! 

"  Charles  JS'erinckx, 

''Miss.  Apost. 

"  P.  S.  The  date  of  my  departure  for  Amer- 
ica being  very  uncertain,  it  depending  on  many 


1816.]         LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  329 

at  present  doubtful  circumstances,  I  request 
the  men  or  women  who  foster  in  their  hearts  the 
desire  of  devoting  themselves,  either  for  a  time 
or  for  their  whole  life,  to  the  noble  undertak- 
ing, to  think  seriously  on  the  matter,  to  recom- 
mend it  earnestly  to  God,  and  to  come  to  a 
speedy  conclusion.  Supposing,  a  thing  most 
probable,  that  I  do  not  leave  before  winter,  they 
should  keep  themselves  in  readiness  to  leave 
early  in  the  spring.  Those  who  desire  to  confer 
with  me  on  the  subject,  and  to  receive  reliable 
information,  can  apply  at  the  residence  of  any 
of  my  relations,  among  whom  I  constantly  re- 
side, or  write  to  my  home  in  Ninove,  whence  I 
will  answer  their  letters. 

"  My  reverend  brother,  who  has  care  of  souls 
in  Somerstown,  London,  and  who,  by  request 
of  his  Bishop,  spent  a  few  days  in  the  Nether- 
lands to  obtain  laborers  for  the  abandoned  mis- 
sions of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  and  the  island 
of  Grenada,  has  gone  back  to  his  people  without 
obtaining  the  desired  help.  He  requests  me  to 
post  those  whom  a  desire  to  devote  themselves 
to  the  noble  undertaking  would  urge  to  go,  in 
the  manner  of  reaching  their  destination.  It  is 
unnecessary  to  rej^eat  that  the  twenty  thousand 
catholics  of  Grenada,  deprived  of  a  priest  for  the 
last  fifteen  months,  have  signified  to  the  Bishop 
of  London  their  desire  of  having  one  ;  that  the 
government  is  ready  to  pay  all  traveling  ex- 
penses ;  that  the  mission  is  possessed  of  a  church 


330  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [1816: 

and  able  to  support  a  priest ;  that  the  predomi- 
nant language  is  French  ;  etc.,  etc. 

"  I  am  just  now  informed  that,  besides  these 
two  missions,  a  third  one  stands  in  need  of  help — 
the  Isle  of  France,  having  a  population  of  thirty 
thousand  souls  and  but  one  priest.  Oh !  my  dear 
friends,  let  us  not  look  with  indifference  on  the 
lamentable  position  of  these  our  brethren ;  con- 
sider the  numerous  progeny  that  is  going  to  share 
in  their  abandonment.  If  no  one  hastens  to  their 
help,  the  sectarians,  anti-catholics,  etc.,  will  soon 
go  to  pervert  this  portion  of  Christ's  fold !  If  I 
can  be  of  any  use,  I  am  ready  to  give  all  neces- 
sary information." 

We  deem  comments  unnecessary.  As  a  re- 
sult of  this  moving  appeal,  two  priests  and  eight 
young  men,  four  of  whom  were  ready  to  be  or- 
dained, signified  their  willingness  to  accompany 
Father  Nerinckx  to  America. 

Our  missionary  spent  the  winter  in  collecting 
money,  vestments,  paintings,  and  other  articles 
necessary  for  or  useful  to  the  missions.  During 
his  stay  he  also  put  in  order  and  had  printed  in 
French,  the  "  Rules  and  Statutes  of  the  Little 
Society  of  the  Friends  of  Mary  at  the  foot  of  the 
Cross,"  which  had  been  adopted  by  the  Sacred 
Congregation  of  the  Propaganda,  when  taking 
that  society  under  its  especial  protection,  in 
April,  1816.  Father  Nerinckx  gave  these  copies 
for  circulation   among   the   pious   sodalities  of 


181G.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  331 

women  in  Belgium,  with  an  eye  to  gain  some 
postulants  for  the  incipient  society,  as  also  to  ex- 
cite the  zeal  of  those  who  had  pecuniary  means 
to  dispose  of  in  favor  of  good  works  like  the  one 
he  commended  to  their  charity. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

1817. 

Father  Nerinckx'  retttrn  to  America. — Dutch  laws. — Emigra- 
tion.— Father  Nerinckx  and  companions  embark  for  the  New 
World. — Tempests  and  pirates. — Arrival  in  Maryland. — His 
associates  join  the  Jesuits. 

Father  Nerinckx  left  Mechlin  about  Easter 
of  1817,  delayed  a  fortnight  longer  in  Antwerp, 
and  proceeded  thence  to  Amsterdam,  where  his 
companions,  eight  young  men  and  two  Flemish 
priests  whose  services  he  had  succeeded  in  en- 
listing in  the  cause  of  the  American  missions, 
soon  joined  him.  One  of  them,  however,  came 
very  near  being  left.  Full  of  zeal  and  happy  to 
devote  his  life  to  so  noble  a  work,  the  young 
man  had  made  no  secret  of  his  intentions.  Un- 
acquainted with  the  red-tape  formalities  to 
w^hich  government  officials  delight  to  sub- 
ject those  who  are  unfortunate  enough  to  stand 
in  need  of  their  services,  the  open-hearted  youth 
was  rather  alarmed  at  his  first  experience  with 
the  outer  world.  As  he  pondered  over  tbe  docu- 
ment which  was  laid  before  him  at  the  pass- 
port office  of  Antwerp,  he,  who  was  innocent 
and  without  guile,  understood,  no  doubt,  as  he 

(332) 


1817.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CIIArtLES  NERINCKX.  33iJ- 

had  never  done  before,  the  wisdom  of  the  lesson 
which  Christ  gave  to  his  apostles  when  sending 
them  out  to  preach  his  Gospel  among  men :  "Be 
ye,  therefore,  wise  as  serpents,  and  simple  as  • 
doves.  But  beware  of  men!  .  .  ."  Under  so 
strikingly  similar  circumstances,  a  new  light 
broke  upon  his  mind,  "  and  it  was  given  to  him 
in  that  hour  what  to  speak,"  and  how  to  evade 
the  provisions  of  the  ominous  prohibition  paper. 
Its  contents  were  to  the  effect,  that  no  person 
could  leave  the  mother  country  and  travel 
abroad  or  emigrate  to  foreign  parts,  firstly  if,  be- 
ing a  minor,  his  parents  were  opposed  to  his  de- 
parture ;  secondly,  if  he  had  not  complied  with 
the  national  law  of  military  conscription  ;  thirdly, 
and  this  was  the  main  objectional  clause  of  the 
document,  if  they  left  with  the  intention  of  de- 
voting themselves  to  the  foreign  missions.  The 
reason  given  for  this  arbitrary  prohibition  was, 
that  the  secretary  of  public  worship  (and  a  pro- 
testant  at  that !)  stood  in  need  of  their  services 
in  their  native  land  ! 

Such  were  the  iniquitous  means  by  which  a 
bigoted  government  sought  to  entrammel  the  ex- 
tension of  the  catholic  faith,  and  the  exercise  of 
the  individual  liberty  of  its  catholic  subjects. 
No  wonder  if  such  a  course  of  action  proved  in 
the  end  disastrous  to  the  Dutch  supremacy,  and 
blasted  the  hopes  entertained  by  the  allied 
powers  of  ever  effecting  the  lasting  amalgama- 
tion of  Holland  and  Belgium.  Inflated  by  his 
late    successes.    Prince    William    Frederic    of 


:334  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [1817. 

Orange  Nassau  looked  upon  the  Belgian  prov- 
inces, ceded  to  him  in  1815,  as  the  spoils  of  vic- 
tory. Instead  of  trying  to  conciliate  his  catho- 
lic subjects,  who  would  have  been  loyal  citizens 
of  the  kingdom  of  the  Netherlands  and  devoted 
friends  to  the  Orange  dynasty  after  the  galling 
experience  of  a  twenty-five  years'  French  tyran- 
nical protection,  he  did  all  in  his  power  to  alien- 
ate their  affections.  And  he  succeeded  so  well 
that  a  revolution  broke  out  in  1830,  and  Catholic 
Belgium  proclaimed  and  successfully  main- 
tained its  hard-earned  independence. 

Father  Nerinckx  had  not  been  without  appre- 
hension on  that  score,  and  communicated  his 
fears  to  Bishop  Flaget,  for  he  could  not  but  be 
aware  that  his  movements  were  being  watched 
by  the  officials.  On  December  20,  1816,  he 
w^rote  to  Archbishop  Neale,  of  Baltimore :  "  I 
intend  to  set  out  for  America  next  March,  and 
hope,  with  the  divine  protection,  to  meet  your 
Lordship  in  good  health  within  a  few  months. 
I  am  not  without  misgivings  about  the  success 
of  my  mission  here,  for,  to  the  embarrassments 
<?aused  by  the  government,  must  be  added  the 
probability  of  war  and  the  increasing  number 
of  privateers  who  cover  the  seas."  However, 
the  Flemish  youth  in  question  secured  his  pass- 
port and  joined  the  little  band  of  missionaries 
in  Amsterdam,  where  he  relieved,  at  times,  the 
tedious  days  of  a  whole  month's  delay  at  that 
post,  by  the  zest  with  which  he  related  to  his 


1817.]  LIFE  OF  EEV.  CHAKLES  NERINCKX.  335 

companions  his  experience  with  Dutch  custom- 
house officers. 

Whilst  here,  our  friends  became  greatly  inter- 
ested in  the  subject  of  European  emigration. 
Hundreds  of  families  of  all  nationalities  had 
gathered  in  Amsterdam  awaiting  their  chance 
of  embarking  for  Am^erica.  In  their  daily 
peregrinations  along  the  docks,  watching  a 
favorable  opportunity  to  set  sail,  the  mission- 
aries could  examine  at  leisure  into  the  causes  of 
that  uninterrupted  exodus  which  has  been  tak- 
ing such  formidable  proportions  ever  since. 
During  the  ten  years  previous  to  1817,  extensive 
emigration  had  been  precluded  by  the  un- 
friendly relations  existing  at  the  time  between 
Oreat  Britain,  France,  and  the  United  States; 
but  soon  after  the  restoration  of  peace,  a  new 
impulse  was  given  to  it,  and  during  the  year 
1817,  over  twenty  thousand  immigrants  arrived 
in  the  States.  The  extravagant  wars  of  Na- 
poleon I.  had  impoverished  France,  and  had 
brought  Alsace  and  Lorraine  to  so  abject  a  state 
of  misery,  by  his  long-continued  taxations  of 
friends  and  foes,  that  the  poor  emigrants  from 
those  provinces  testified  to  Father  Nerinckx 
that  their  only  object  in  leaving  their  homes 
was  to  find  a  crust  of  bread  for  their  wives  and 
children.  The  restoration  of  1815  had  not  even 
succeeded  in  giving  temporary  relief  to  the 
devastated  provinces;  and,  after  two  years  of 
struggle  for  existence,  love  of  country  was  stifled 


SSQ  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [1817. 

within  the  breasts  of  the  sufferers  by  the  crav- 
ing pangs  of  hunger. 

However,  most  of  the  emigrants  congregated 
at  the  port  of  Amsterdam  were  Germans,  who 
went  to  seek,  in  a  foreign  land,  the  political  and 
religious  libert}''  which  was  denied  them  at 
home.  Subsequent  to  the  fall  of  the  Napoleonic 
Empire  and  the  re-establishment  of  the  inde- 
pendence of  German  nationality,  a  confederation 
of  all  the  States  which  had  contrived  to  main- 
tain their  sovereignty  during  those  troublesome 
times,  had  been  formed  in  June,  1815,  and  had 
given  gre^it  hopes  to  the  people.  But  "the  en- 
thusiastic hope  of  the  German  people  that  Ger- 
many would  once  more  appear  as  a  powerful 
united  nation  was  sorely  disappointed.  ^o- 
national  representation  was  to  give  stability, 
upon  a  popular  basis,  to  the  confederation.  The 
Diet  being  only  a  temporary  convention  of  the 
representatives  of  princes,  all  jealous  of  their 
individual  sovereignty  and  unwilling  to  recognize 
the  claims  of  the  people,  became  an  abject  tool 
of  political  oppression.  .  .  .  Wherever  the 
people  of  a  single  State  endeavored  to  obtain 
free  institutions,  the  Diet  found  occasion  to  in- 
terfere in  favor  of  absolute  monarchical  power."* 
Princes  forgot  that  absolute  monarchism  had 
had  its  time,  and  that  a  new  order  of  things  had 
begun;  a  new  light  hid  dawned  upon  the  peo- 
ple— an  era  of  representative  legislation  and 
constitutional    government.      The    consequence 

*  New  American  Cyclopaedia,  Vol.  VIII.,  pg.  210. 


1817.]  LIFE  OF  KEV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  337 

of  that  error  was  soon  apparent.  With  the 
natural  tardiness  inherent  to  their  race,  the 
Germans  gave  the  authorities  time  to  reflect: 
and  when  it  became  a  settled  fact  that  justice 
would  not  be  done  to  the  people,  they  set  about 
their  work  with  the  no  less  natural  tenacity  of 
purpose  which  knows  no  obstacles.  In  1817 
began  that  steady  emigration,  which  has  in- 
creased every  year  in  proportion  as  it  has  been 
opposed,  and  which,  in  our  own  day,  not  even 
Prince  Bismarck's  despotic  regulations  have 
been  able  to  check. 

A  month  had  elapsed  since  his  arrival  in  the- 
Dutch  seaport,  when  Father  Nerinckx  succeeded, 
at  length,  in  securing  passage  for  himself  and 
companions  on  board  the  brig  Mars,  Captain 
Hall,  a  Quaker  of  Baltimore.  For  the  considera- 
tion of  four  hundred  Dutch  guilders,  the  captain 
gave  up  his  cabin  for  their  exclusive  use,  to  the 
great  joy  of  the  missionaries,  who  were  anxious  to- 
l^erform  their  devotions  in  common.  There  being- 
room  for  only  seven  occupants,  the  three  others 
went  in  quest  of  lodgings  among  the  one  hundred 
and  thirty  Alsatian  and  German  emigrants  who 
completed  the  list  of  passengers,  and  joined  their 
brethren  in  the  spiritual  exercises  during  the 
day. 

Having  left  Amsterdam  the  8th  of  May,  1817, 
they  embarked  on  the  brig  the  16th  of  the  same 
month,  at  the  island  of  Texel.  The  voyage  was 
long   and    dangerous.     Scarcely  had    they   en- 


338  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [1817. 

tered  the  English  channel,  when,  on  Whitsun- 
day, a  storm  arose,  and  heightened  the  danger 
usually  attending  the  passage  of  those  straits. 
The  most  strenuous  eiforts  of  the  crew  seemed 
unavailing,  and  one  of  the  sailors  who  was  cling- 
ing .to  the  rigging,  in  order  to  save  the  canvas, 
was  dashed,  with  the  sails  from  the  topmast,  over- 
hoard  and  lost.  During  that  violent  storm, 
James  0.  Vandevelde,  one  of  Father  Nerinckx' 
companions,  was  thrown  down  on  deck  with 
such  force  as  to  break  a  blood-vessel,  suffered 
much  during  the  journey,  and  was  so  enfeebled 
from  the  loss  of  blood  that  on  landing  in  Balti- 
more he  had  to  be  carried  to  St.  Mary's  Semi- 
nary. Tossed  by  the  winds  and  waves,  the  ship 
floated  about  for  three  days  and  three  nights 
without  sails  and  without  a  helm,  at  the  mercy 
of  the  ocean,  to  the  great  consternation  of  the 
j)assengers,  most  of  whom  never  had  been  to  sea 
before.  However,  the  tempest  finally  subsided ; 
the  vessel  was  put  in  good  trim  ;  and  our  friends, 
unconscious  of  further  danger,  submitted  them- 
selves with  rather  ill-grace  to  that  unmerciful 
sea  complaint,  to  which  all  novices  have  to  pay 
tribute,  and  against .  which  poor  Father  JSTer- 
inckx  struggled  with  any  thing  but  success  for  a 
whole  month. 

In  the  meantime,  the  Mars,  manned  by  will- 
ing hands,  but  steered  by  incompetent  heads, 
made  little  headway ;  neither  the  captain  nor 
the  mate  was  qualified  for  his  post,  and,  mis- 
guided  by  their  ever-varying   calculations,  the 


1817.]  LIFE  OF  EEV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  339 

brig  after  passing  the  Azores  was  making 
straight  for  the  tropics.  Having  at  length  dis- 
covered his  mistake,  Captain  Hall  headed  north- 
west for  the  banks  of  New  Foundland,  and  was 
complimenting  himself  on  his  unmerited  escape 
from  the  disastrous  consequences  which  his  ran- 
dom sailing  might  have  brought  upon  him,  when, 
as  ill  luck  would  have  it,  he  fell  in  with  a  priva- 
teer. The  Mars  was  soon  running  before  the 
wind  with  all  the  canvas  which  our  Quaker  could 
muster;  but  the  piratical  vessel,  rigged  for 
such  emergencies,  soon  gave  her  a  smart  chase ; 
and,  after  a  long  pursuit,  succeeded  in  boarding 
her  to  the  dismay  of  the  poor  emigrants,  who, 
expecting  to  be  hurled  overboard  after  having 
escaped  so  many  dangers,  gave  way  to  mournful 
lamentations  for  ever  having  left  the  land  of 
their  birth.  However,  their  fears  proved  to  be 
groundless.  Captain  Mooney,  the  master  of  the 
pirate,  was  a  native  of  Baltimore,  and  having 
expressed  his  satisfaction  at  meeting  a  country- 
man, far  from  manifesting  any  hostile  intentions, 
he  offered  to  revictual  the  Mars,  which,  having 
lost  so  much  time  by  steering  out  of  her  course, 
was  failing  in  provisions.  Captain  Hall  thank- 
fully accepted  the  proferred  help;  he  bought 
several  barrels  of  biscuit,  salt  beef,  some  tuns  of 
fresh  water,  and  a  great  quantity  of  dried  fruits 
and  wine,  which  the  pirate  had  in  abundance, 
having  plundered,  three  days  before,  a  Spanish 
merchant-ship  on  its  way  to  Spain,  and  out  of 
which  the  shrewd  Marylander  intended  to  make 


340  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERTNCKX.  [1817. 

an  honest  penny.  Incomj)etency  as  a  mariner  did 
not  prevent  the  captain's  being  a  ready-witted 
business  man,  as  all  Americans  to  the  manor 
born.     Truly, 

Except  wind  stands  as  it  never  stood, 
It  is  an  ill  wind  that  turns  none  to  good  ! 

Every  thing  now  seemed  merry  as  a  mar- 
riage bell,  and  our  gallant  captain  went  on  his 
way  rejoicing,  and  with,  perhaps,  more  than 
three  sheets  in  the  wind,  when,  one  line  morning, 
the  vessel  ran  upon  the  dangerous  shores  of 
northern  Long  Island,  and  sprang  a  leak  !  The 
Mars  took  water  so  fast,  that  had  it  not  been  for 
the  German  and  Alsatian  emigrants'  strong  arms, 
and  the  self-sacrificing  help  of  the  venerable 
missionaries,  she  would  surely  have  perished. 
Passengers  and  crew  were  for  three  weeks,  night 
and  day  without  interruption,  at  the  pumps  ;  and 
even  then  the  least  storm  would  have  proved 
fatal.  But  Providence  watched  over  Father 
jS'erinckx  and  his  generous  companions,  and 
brought  them  safe  into  Chesapeake  Bay  after  an 
eventful  passage  of  eighty  days.*     They  landed 

*  Letters  of  Father  Nerinckx,  edited  by  J.  Lesage  Ten  Broeck. 
This  editor  of  the  Femish  relation  i  emarks  that  "  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  immigrants  entered  on  the  same  day  different 
ports  of  the  Union,  among  them  the  well-known  French  exile. 
General  Vandamme."'  He  remained  in  the  United  States  until 
1824,  when  he  returned  to  Cassel,  his  birthplace,  where  he  died, 
July  15,  1830.  "A  great  many  Frenchmen  had  already  emi- 
grated to  the  States,  and  were  projecting  the  foundation  of  a 
city  on  the  banks  of  the  Ohio,  the  name  of  which  would  be 
worthy  of  its  inhabitants."  Tie  refers,  no  doubt,  to  Gallipolis. 
"  So  far  back  as  the  year  17'.>0,  contemporaneous  with  the  erec- 


1817.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHAELES  NERINCKX.  341 

in  Baltimore  on  the  feast  of  St.  Martha,  July  29, 
1817. 

Having  arrived  in  Maryland  in  the  hottest 
season  of  the  year,  the  missionaries  soon  experi- 
enced the  unhealthy  influence  of  so  great  a 
change  of  climate,  and  they  would  have  proved  a 
great  burden  to  Father  Nerinckx,  had  it  not 
heen  for  the  kind  interference  of  the  pastor  of 
St.  Patrick's,*  a  Frenchman  and  an  intimate 
friend  of  his,  who  obtained  lodgings  for  all  of  them 
in  the  Sulpitian  College.  They  were,  however, 
loath  to  tax  the  generous  hospitality  of  the  Sul- 

tion  of  the  See  of  Baltimore  (1789),  the  ei-ection  of  an  Episcopal 
See  at  the  obscure  and  out-of-the-way  town  of  Gallipolis,  in  Scioto 
county,  Ohio,  was  very  seriously  contemplated  in  Rome,  through 
French  influence.  It  is  related,  as  a  reason  for  this,  that  shortly 
before  this  period  a  colony  of  French  Catholics,  numbering  about 
seven  thousand,  had  settled  on  a  large  tract  of  land,  purchased 
for  them  in  this  region  by  the  French  Land  Company.  This  setr 
tlement  was  called  Gallipolis.  The  project  went  so  far  as  the 
nomination  of  a  Bishop,  and  M.  L'Abbe  Boisnantier,  a  canon  of 
St.  Denis,  Paris,  was  appointed  Bishop  of  Gallipolis.  This  design 
was  abandoned,  however,  owing  to  the  failure  of  the  Scioto  col- 
ony, the  title  of  whose  land  was  not  clear,  and  the  colonists  find- 
ing that  they  had  been  imposed  upon,  returned  to  their  native 
land.  When,  in  1793,  Fathers  Badin  and  Barrieres  went  West, 
they  found  but  a  remnant  of  the  little  settlement  which  had 
long  been  destitute  of  the  ministrations  of  a  priest.  These  two 
missionaries  remained  here  for  a  few  days,  heard  confessions,  of- 
fered up  the  Holy  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass  for  these  delighted  peo- 
ple, and  baptized  some  forty  children."  N.  Y.  Freeman's  Jour- 
nal, May  25,  1878.  These  reverend  gentlemen  were  on  their 
way  to  Kentucky  ;  that  was  the  first  time  that  Mass  was  said 
within  the  limits  of  the  State  of  Ohio. 

Of  late  years  Gallipolis  was  attended  from  Jackson,  Ohio. 
Right  Rev.  S.  H.  Rosecrans,  Bishop  of  Columbus,  appointed  Rev. 
J.  B.  Gamber  resident  pastor  of  the  place  in  1878. 

*  Probably,  Father  de  Moranville. 


342  ^IFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [1817, 

pitian  Fathers  too  long;  the  more  so,  as  with 
the  exception  of  one,  they  had  all  resolved  to 
join  the  Society  of  Jesus.  In  consequence, 
Henry  Hendrickx,  of  Hougaerde,  near  Thienen,* 
remained  with  Father  Nerinckx,  and  the  nine 
others  soon  set  out  for  the  Jesuit  College  of 
Georgetown,  where  eight  of  them  at  once  entered 
the  Novitiate.  The  ninth  one,  whose  name  I 
could  not  ascertain,  having,  upon  mature  de- 
liberation, come  to  the  conclusion  that  he  had  no 
vocation  for  the  Order,  withdrew. 

Father  Nerinckx  was  strongly  attached  to  the 
Society  of  Jesus,  and  on  every  possible  occasion 
gave  i^roof  of  the  high  esteem  in  which  he  held 
it ;  indeed,  the  height  of  his  ambition,  whilst  in 
Rome,  had  been  to  join  it  himself.  In  bringing 
so  many  young  men  with  him,  he  mainly  com- 
plied with  the  request  of  Father  Anthony  Kohl- 
man,  the  Provincial  of  the  Jesuits  in  Maryland, 
who  had  begged  of  him  to  obtain,  if  possible, 
young  men  disposed  to  labor  on  the  American 
mission.  Forgetful  of  his  own  needs,  and  of  the 
sad  neglect  of  the  poor  diocese  of  Bardstown, 
he  cheerfully  sent  those  robust  laborers  where 
he  thought  they  would  do  the  most  good ;  not- 
withstanding the  fact  that  he  had  written  so 
many  letters  complaining  of  the  dearth  of 
priests  in  his  own  missions,  and  the  imperious 
necessity  in  which  he  was  of  securing  help. 
The  venerable  B.  J.  Flaget,  Bishop  of  Bards- 
town, gave   him,  at  his  arrival  in  that  city,  a 

*  In  French:    Tirlemont,  province  of  Brabant,  Belgium. 


1817.]         LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  343; 

gentle  rebuke  for  his  too  self-denying  disinter- 
estedness, saying:  "Father  Nerinckx,  why  did 
you  not  bring  some  of  those  good  Flemish 
priests  along  with  you?  There  are  excellent 
subjects  among  them,  able  to  fill  any  position  ; 
I  like  them  very  much." 

The  eight  who  joined  the  Jesuits  at  George- 
town were  the  following: 

1.  Mr.  Cousin,  a  priest  of  the  diocese  of 
Grhent ;  he  died  at  White  Marsh,  at  the  close  of 
his  novitiate. 

2.  Rev.  P.  Devos,  also  a  priest  of  Flanders, 
born  in  1782.  He  was  a  very  pious  man  ;  but, 
finding  that  his  settled  habits  of  solitary  inde- 
pendence rendered  him  unfit  for  community 
life,  he  left  the  Society  of  Jesus  in  1819,  and 
Archbishop  Carroll  appointed  him  pastor  of  St. 
Mary's  church,  Rockville,  Montgomery  county, 
Maryland,  about  fifteen  miles  from  Georgetown. 

Mr.  Lemuel  Clements,  a  venerable  old  resi- 
dent of  Rockville,  has  a  vivid  recollection  of 
these  old  pioneer  times.  His  eyes  moisten  and 
his  tongue  grows  eloquent  when  he  speaks  of  his 
old  friend  and  pastor ;  and,  as  you  listen  to  his 
account  of  days  gone  by,  you  can  not  but  think 
that  it  must  have  been  a  virtue  of  no  common 
order  which  could  stamp  its  impress  so  deeply 
on  even  one  follower.  Mr.  Clements  furnished 
us  the  following  details,  in  1877 :  "  The  church 
in  Rockville  was  built  with  a  steeple  or  tower  at 
the  rear,  the  lower  part  of  which  was  used  as  a 
sacristy.      Father   Devos   lived   in    the    upper 


M4  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHAELES  NERINCKX.  [1817. 

room  for  two  years.  In  1821,  I  moved  him 
from  the  steeple  up  to  my  house,  on  the  Whar- 
ton farm,  near  where  St.  Rose's  church  now 
stands.  He  lived  with  me  four  years.  I  gave 
him  my  best  room,  which  he  converted  into  a 
chapel  where  he  said  Mass  regularly.  At  this 
time  he  had  charge  of  the  whole  county.  He 
said  Mass  at  Barnesville,  Rockville,  and  St. 
John's.  When  he  made  an  appointment  for 
Mass,  he  never  allowed  ciny  thing  to  disappoint 
his  people.  On  one  occasion  he  was  going  to 
Barnesville,  on  a  very  cold  day,  and  found  the 
Branches  with  more  or  less  ice  in  them.  When 
he  reached  Little  Seneca,  his  horse  refused  to 
head  the  ice  ;  and,  being  rather  a  poor  horseman, 
although  he  always  traveled  on  horseback,  he 
dismounted,  walked  through  the  water,  and 
made  the  horse  follow  him.  A  heavy  cold, 
which  eventually  proved  the  cause  of  his  death, 
was  the  result. 

"  He  never  stayed  away  from  his  charge  even 
for  one  night,  and  being  in  the  habit  of  going  to 
Greorgetown  to  confession,  he  would  never  remain 
there  over  night  until  commanded  to  do  so  by 
the  Archbishop.  During  the  twenty-five  years 
he  was  in  Montgomery  county,  he  visited  Balti- 
more only  once. 

"  He  became  infirm  several  years  before  he  left 
the  county,  and  was  not  able  to  attend  to  the  du- 
ties of  the  mission.  In  January,  1844,  I  moved 
him  to  Georgetown,  He  thence  went  to  his 
friend,  Ilev.  Edward  Knight,  pastor  of  St.  Peter's 


1817.]         LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  345 

€hurch,  Capitol  Hill,  Washington,  and  died 
there  in  March,  1844.  He  was  attended  in  his 
last  sickness  by  Father  James  B.  Donelan,  who 
told  me  that  the  almost  unbearable  stench  in  his 
room  previous  to  his  death,  was  changed  to  a 
sweet  fragrance  so  soon  as  he  died." 

The  testimony  of  Rev.  Father  Van  Horsigh, 
then  residing  at  St.  Peter's,  corroborates  the  lat- 
ler  statement.  He  told  Rev.  James  A.  Ward, 
S.  J.,  now  of  the  novitiate,  Frederic,  Md.,  that 
after  death  the  body  of  Father  Devos  exhaled 
a  most  extraordinary  and  delicious  perfume. 

3.  Mr.  James  Oliver  Vandevelde,  of  Lebbeke, 
near  Dendermonde,  was  professor  in  the  Petit 
Seminaire  of  Mechlin,  when  Providence  threw  "  in 
his  way,  ....  one  of  the  most  celebrated  mis- 
.sionaries  of  the  New  World.  This  was  Father 
Charles  Nerinckx  of  Kentucky,  who  had  been  to 
Rome  in  the  interest  of  our  Western  missions, 
and  especially  those  of  Kentucky,  and  who,  on 
his  return,  visited  Mechlin.  Young  Vandevelde 
was  not  slow  in  seeking  this  saintly  man  and 
pioneer  missionary,  who  imparted  to  him  full  in- 
formation on  the  American  missions,  their  neces- 
sities, want  of  laborers,  and  of  the  abundant 
fruits  they  produced ;  and  the  young  follower  of 
the  Cross  disclosed  in  turn  his  fixed  purpose  of 
devoting  himself  to  so  glorious  a  work.  His 
self-offering  was  accepted,  and  it  was  arranged 
that  he  should  accompany  Father  Nerinckx  to 
America,  complete  his  theologies  studies  at 
Bishop  Flaget's  Seminary  at  Bardstown,  Ken- 


346  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [1817. 

tucky,  and  then  devote  his  life  to  the  labors  of 
the  missions."  *  On  his  arrival  in  America,  how- 
ever, he  made  up  his  mind  to  join  the  Jesuits. 
First,  professor  at  Georgetown  College ;  afterward 
on  the  mission  in  Montgomery  county,  Mary- 
land ;  successively  professor,  vice-president,  and 
procurator  of  the  St.  Louis  University,  Mo., 
and  finally  president  of  the  same  institution, 
Father  Vandevelde  filled  the  duties  of  his  sev- 
eral positions  with  more  than  ordinary  ability. 
He  was  subsequently  sent  as  representative  of 
the  Vice-Province  of  Missouri  to  the  congrega- 
tion of  procurators  of  the  society  which  assem- 
bled in  Rome  in  1841,  was  made  Vice-Provincial 
of  the  Missouri  province  in  1843,  consecrated 
Bishop  of  Chicago  in  1849,  and  at  his  own  re- 
quest transferred  to  Natchez  in  1853.  He  died  in 
the  latter  city,  November  13,  1855,  from  the  ef- 
fects of  a  fall  down  the  stairway,  having  frac- 
tured his  leg  in  two  places. 

4.  Father  Henry  Verb ey en,  of  Merxplas,  had 
made  the  Spanish  canq^aign  under  Napoleon. 
He  became  a  missionary  in  Maryland,  and  died 
at  St.  Thomas'  Manor,  Port  Tobacco,  Charles 
county,  of  bilious  fever,  September  30,  1823,  at 
the  age  of  thirty-six  years.  His  great  zeal  for 
the  salvation  of  souls  and  his  solid  virtue  gained 
for  him  the  esteem  and  respect  of  all  those  who 
were  happy  enough  to  know  him. 

5.  Mr.  Peter  Joseph  Timmermans,  of  Turn- 
hout,  was  secretary  to  the  commissary  of  that 

*  Lives  of  Deceased  Bishops,  by  Richard  H.  Clarke. 


1817.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHAELES  NERTNCKX.  347 

district,  when  he  joined  the  little  band  of  mis- 
sionaries in  1817.  He  became  an  indefatigable 
missionary,  and  together  with  Father  Vanquick- 
enborne,  his  Socius,  rendered  great  services  to 
religion  in  Missouri.  He  finished  his  earthly 
career  at  St.  Stanislaus,  Florissant,  Missouri, 
May  31,  1824,  aged  "thirty -four,  after  a  few  hours' 
illness. 

6.  Mr.  Strahan,  from  near  Turnhout,  province 
of  Antwerp.  He  accompanied  the  former  to 
Missouri  as  a  lay  brother,  and  left  the  society 
soon  after. 

The  two  others  had  come  out  with  the  inten- 
tion of  rendering  themselves  useful  as  lay 
brothers  in  the  pioneer  missions  of  the  Society 
of  Jesus.     They  were  : 

7.  Brother  Christian  Desmet,  born  in  Marcke,. 
near  Audenaerde,  January  24,  1771,  who  died  at 
the  College  of  Georgetown,  D.  C,  March  29, 
1845,  after  having  been  a  model  of  a  true  and 
holy  religious  in  his  twofold  employment  of 
baker  and  sacristan. 

8.  Brother  Peter  De  Meyer,  of  Segelsem,  the 
only  survivor  of  the  party,  who  is  enjoying  a 
green  old  age  of  eighty-four  years,  at  St.  Stanis- 
laus iN'ovitiate,  near  Florissant,  Missouri. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

1817. 

Father  Nebinckx'  various  importations. — Mr.  Hendrickx  goes  to 
New   Orleans. — His  death. — Father  Nerinckx'   love   op    the 

BEAUTY  of  the  HoUSE  OF  GoD. — He  SUPPLIES  CHURCHES  AND 
CONTENTS  WITH  ECCLESIASTICAL  ORNAMENTS. — ThE  GIFT  OF  THE 
POOR   SERVANT   GIRL. — CELEBRATED    PAINTINGS. 

In  this  age  of  railroad  and  steamboat  facili- 
ties, it  is  as  difficult  to  conceive  the  amount 
of  trouble  and  expense  which  the  bulky  baggage 
of  our  missionaries  of  old  entailed  upon  them,  as 
it  would  be  preposterous  in  our  own  times  to 
bring  from  the  mother  country  the  numerous 
articles  of  church  furniture,  pictures,  bells,  altars, 
etc.,  which  they  procured  for  their  poor  churches 
and  lonely  stations  in  those  ^^rimitive  days. 

In  these  United  States,  as  everywhere  else, 
the  catholic  priest  was  the  pioneer  of  christian 
civilization.  This  is  especially  true  of  Ken- 
tucky, Louisiana,  Missouri,  and  neighboring 
States.  The  picture  of  Kentucky,  as  drawn  in  a 
previous  chapter,  makes  it  nothing  short  of  a 
desert  for  any  civilized  being.  And  from  a  let- 
ter of  the  venerable  Father  Nerinckx,  written  in 
1807,  we  gather  a  list  of  articles  which  this  val- 

(348) 


1817.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  349 

iant  soldier  of  the  Cross  thought  fit  to  import  for 
the  spiritual  and  temporal  welfare  of  his  flock. 
"  I  asked  you  for  seeds  of  different  kinds  of  trees, 
shrubbery,  and  fruits.  Please  notice  in  packing 
them  that  you  must  allow  them  sufficient  air,  and 
not  press  them  too  much,  so  that  the}^  be  not 
killed  or  rotten.  Although  we  are  not  entirely 
without  church  furniture,  our  wants  are  great  in- 
deed ;  missals,  crucifixes,  statues,  and  pictures 
are  most  needed.  Not  one  of  our  churches  has 
what  may  be  called  an  altar  except  Holy  Cross ; 
none  has  more  than  one  chasuble  ;  nor  is  a  linen 
alb  to  be  found  in  any  of  these  which  I  did  not 
furnish  myself.  Middling  good  linen,  which  we 
get  from  Ireland,  costs  $1.50.  I  also  procured 
four  chalices.  .  ,  .  Music  books  are  another 
article  that  I  very  much  desire.  .  .  .  Being 
constantly  occupied  in  building  churches  and 
altars,  I  wish  we  could  obtain  books  and  pictures 
from  Belgium,  in  order  to  give  our  workmen 
here  some  good  models  and  sketches.  I  desire 
you  to  send  me  a  good  edition  of  Grestel,  San- 
derus,  etc.,  along  with  the  other  books  I  or- 
dered. .  .  .  Also  send  me  some  more  salves, 
with  explanation  of  their  virtues  and  directions 
for  use.  The  salves  which  I  brought  from  the 
Hospital  of  Dendermonde,  were  used  with  good 
results,  not  for  myself,  thank  God !  but  to  cure 
a  negro  boy  who  was  badly  burned.     .     .     ." 

Builder  and  architect,  the  good  Father  made 
churches  loom  up  in  the  wilderness,  and  estab- 
lished missions,  around  which  the  hardy  border- 


350  I^IFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [1817. 

pioneer  reared  his  log  hut  and  reclaimed  the 
forest  to  civilization.  Spiritual  doctor,  who 
guarded  the  soul  against  the  dangers  of  a  life  in 
the  wilderness  and  poured  a  healing  balsam  in 
many  a  prurient  wound,  he  was  also  ready  to  go 
to  the  relief  of  the  corporal  infirmities  of  his 
flock  and  procure  them  remedies  which  the  dis- 
tance from  populous  centers  would  have  pre- 
cluded them  from  getting  in  time.  Attentive  to 
their  every  want,  he  brought  them  church  orna- 
ments to  lend  a  charm,  and  a,  till  then,  unknown 
splendor  to  the  celebration  of  the  holy  mys- 
teries, as  also  fruits  and  flowers  with  which  to 
adorn  their  gardens  and  enrich  their  orchards, 
beautifying  their  homes  and  making  them  re- 
nounce their  oft  repeated  wanderings,  to  settle 
contentedly  under  the  shadow  of  the  cross  which 
surmounted  the  rustic  sanctuary. 

Father  Nerinckx  had  learned  by  experience 
how  useful  all  these  things  were,  and  unmindful 
of  the  cost,  trouble,  and  annoyance  attending 
the  transportation  of  huge  trunks  at  so  great  a 
distance,  he  returned  to  his  mission  with  a  full 
supply  of  articles  of  every  description.  He 
paid  two  hundred  Dutch  guilders  for  ship-transit, 
and,  by  special  favor,  only  $240  for  internal 
revenue,  although  the  church  goods  used  to  en- 
ter the  States  free  of  charge.  In  a  letter,  ad- 
dressed in  1818  to  his  Belgian  benefactors  and 
giving  an  account  of  his  many  expenses,  he  says 
that  every  passenger  has  to  fill  up  a  lading-bill, 
stating  the  price  and  giving  a  description  of  the 


1817.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  851 

articles  imported,  and  swear  to  their  true  value. 
^'  By  neglecting  to  comply  with  these  require- 
ments, the  Italian  and  French  priests  who  arrived 
before  me,"  (probably  Very  Rev.  De  Andreis, 
O.  M.,  and  companions,  who  reached  America  in 
July,  1816,)  "had  to  see  all  their  things  un- 
packed, and  valued  piecemeal.  The  Right 
Rev.  W.  Dubourg,  Bishop  of  Louisiana,  who 
came  shortly  after  my  arrival  with  a  numerous 
suite,  having  more  experience  and  friends,  went 
to  the  head  of  the  Department,  and  succeeded 
in  passing  all  his  luggage  without  almost  any 
expense,  under  the  title  of  church  apparatus- 
Those  who  would,  at  present,  come  by  New  Or- 
leans, have  nothing  to  pay,  that  city  having  been 
declared  a  free  port  of  entry  for  a  term  of  five 
years,  of  which  the  current  3^ear  is  the  second." 
On  his  arrival  in  Baltimore  the  goods  were 
found  to  be  in  a  good  state  of  preservation,  and 
in  order  to  profit  by  the  franchise  of  'New  Orleans 
and  at  the  same  time  to  avoid'  the  enormous 
cost  of  transportation  by  land.  Father  Nerinckx 
advised  Mr.  Hendrickx,  who  had  up  to  this 
time  remained  with  him,  to  go  by  sea  to  New 
Orleans,  and  take  part  of  the  baggage  with  him. 
Unhappily,  the  young  man  experienced  a  very 
rough  sea,  which  damaged  the  goods  considerably, 
and  it  was  only  after  a  stormy  passage  of  fifty 
days,  three  times  the*  duration  of  an  ordinary 
voyage,  that  he  arrived  safe  at  his  destination, 
where  he  was  kindly  received  by  the  Vicar- 
general,  the  Superior  of  the  Ursulines.     Strong 


352  I-IFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.     .    [1817. 

and  healthy  as  he  was,  Henry  Hendrickx  was 
the  only  one  whom  sea-sickness  had  not  af- 
fected during  the  lengthy  voyage  from  Europe  ; 
but  on  the  second  day  of  his  arrival  in  New 
Orleans,  he  caught  the  yellow  fever,  which  was 
just  then  raging  in  that  city,  and,  notwithstand- 
ing the  best  of  care  given  him  by  the  sisters,  he 
died  a  week  after  in  the  dwelling  of  the  Vicar- 
general,  who  gave  him  the  last  religious  rites  of 
our  Holy  Mother  the  Church.  His  death  was  a 
great  loss  to  the  young  diocese  of  Bardstown, 
which  stood  in  great  need  of  his  talents,  and  to 
which  he  had  intended  to  devote  his  life.  The 
sickness  and  burial  of  young  Hendrickx  cost 
Father  Nerinckx  about  |200;  his  passage -and 
freight  expenses  amounted  to  $150,  which,  to- 
gether with  $50  pocket  money  that  he  had  giv  n 
him,  brought  the  expenses  of  that  trip  to  very 
near  $400.  How  much  more  the  baggage  would 
cost  him  he  could  not  state,  for  it  had  not  yet 
reached  him  in  December,  1818. 

The  transportation  by  land  of  Father  Ner- 
inckx'  trunks  was  enough  to  frighten  any  body 
less  energetic  and  less  confident  of  God's  provi- 
dential help.  The  two  hundred  miles  from 
Baltimore  to  Pittsburg  cost  him  $7.50  a  hun- 
dred pounds,  viz :  six  hundred  dollars  for  the 
eight  thousand  pounds'  weight  which  he  had  kept 
with  him.  From  Pittsbifrg  he  had  a  chance  of 
having  it  conveyed  by  water  on  the  Ohio  down 
to  Louisville,  a  distance  of  four  hundred  and 
fifty    miles;    the    charges,    however,    amounted 


1.817.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  353 

even  then  to  no  less  than  $300.  The  remainder 
of  the  journey  from  Louisville  to  Loretto  (sixty 
miles)  cost  him  $1  to  $2  a  hundred. 

At  the  time  that  Father  Nerinckx  was  in  Bel- 
gium selecting  his  choice  collection  of  church  or- 
naments, man}^  a  person,  laboring  under  the 
false  but  too  common  idea  that  worn-out  things 
are  good  enough  for  the  missions,  asked  him 
what  he  intended  to  do  with  all  those  precious 
things  in  the  wilderness  of  America  ?  The  answer 
is  worthy  of  the  zealous  j^riest,  who  "  loved  the 
beauty  of  the  house  of  the  Lord  :  "  "  Let  us  be- 
lieve," he  writes  in  1818,  "  that  Christ,  the  King 
of  Glory,  is  worthy  of,  and  delights  in,  our 
tokens  of  the  most  profound  veneration,  in  what- 
ever place  it  may  be.  I  think  that  the  pious 
Belgians  rejoice  with  us  that  the  Holy  Sacrifice, 
which  used  to  be  offered  here  (and  is  jet 
in  some  places)  in  chasubles  of  coarse  tissue 
bordered  with  old  bonnet  ribbons,  instead  of  silk 
and  gold  galoon,  is  now  celebrated  in  many  a 
mission,  in  silk,  damask,  and  silver  ornaments, 
to  the  glorification  of  the  true  Grod.  Such 
things  add  to  the  s^^lendor  of  the  ceremonies  of 
the  church,  and  inspire  the  ignorant  and  lookers- 
on  with  a  greater  veneration  for  our  religion ; 
seeing,  they  admire ;  admiring,  they  inquire ; 
inquiring,  they  finally  desire  the  gift  of  faith, 
obtain  it,  and  ever  after  love  and  practice  the 
law  of  God."  Lack  of  faith  alone  could  account 
for  the  silly  observations  of  the  fault-finders ;  for 


354  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [1817, 

He  who  seeks  the  hundredth  sheep  lost  in  the 
American  wilderness,  is  the  same  God  who  so  ten- 
derly cares  for  the  ninety-nine  others  who  are 
feasting  on  the  rich  pastures  of  catholic  countries. 
The  new-born  Jesus,  wrapped  in  swaddling 
clothes,  and  laid  in  a  manger,  received,  in  the 
.stable  of  Bethlehem,  the  adoration  of  the  three 
kings,  who,  opening  their  treasures,  offered  to 
him  gifts :  gold,  frankincense,  and  myrrh. 

Compared  to  the  many  friends  anxious  to 
help  in  the  propagation  of  the  true  faith  in  the 
New  World,  the  fault-finders  were  few  indeed. 
Through  the  noble  generosity  of  those  Belgian 
friends,  Father  Nerinckx  was  enabled  to  pur- 
chase some  very  rich  ornaments,  and  neatly  re- 
pair and  improve  chasubles  of  less  value.  An 
■old  and  tried  friend  of  the  venerable  mission- 
ary, Mr.  Jos.  Peemans,  of  Lou  vain,  was  es- 
pecially instrumental  in  obtaining  many  valu- 
able articles. 

It  may  prove  interesting  to  the  congregations 
that  are  still  in  possession  of  some  of  these  ob- 
jects, to  know  where  they  came  from  and  how 
they  were  obtained.  The  richest  and  most  com- 
plete set  of  vestments,  including  fire  copes  of 
the  finest  material,  was  bought  from  a  collegiate 
church  in  Brussels  at  a  very  high  figure. 
Father  Nerinckx  donated  it  to  the  cathedral 
church  of  Bardstown,  and  Bishop  Flaget  used  it 
for  the  first  time  at  the  Pontifical  Mass  of  Easter 
Sunday  in  the  chapel  of  St.  Thomas  Seminary, 
at  which  Very  Rev.  De  Andreis  and  his  Italian 


1817.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  355 

and  French  companions  assisted.  Our  mission- 
ary here  remarks  that  the  chapel  being  as  large 
and  as  well-built  as  the  one  of  the  Seminary  at 
Mechlin,  the  grandest  ceremonies  of  the  church 
could  easily  be  performed  therein,  the  only 
drawback  being  the  substitution  of  an  old  piano- 
forte in  lieu  of  the  organ.  The  cathedral  church 
-was  also  presented  with  the  beautiful  bell  of  the 
abbey  of  Mnove,  cast  by  Mr.  Sacre,  of  Alost, 
and  bought  in  Mnove  by  Father  Nerinckx; 
with  a  very  good  organ,  the  first  ever  seen  in 
Kentucky;  and  with  a  fine  gilt  remonstrance 
and  ciborium. 

The  Seminary,  which  was  sadly  deficient  in 
every  thing,  got  a  set  of  white  vestments  for 
four  priests  and  black  ones  with  cope,  which 
Father  Nerinckx  had  purchased  in  Mechlin; 
another  white  set,  with  blue  columns  and  an  em- 
broidered cope,  used  for  first  class  solemnities, 
the  gift  of  Mr.  Peemans,  of  Louvain;  twenty 
chasubles  of  different  colors  and  value,  together 
with  as  many  albs  and  other  linen  articles,  and 
a  small  remonstrance. 

The  Dominican  Fathers  received,  through 
Father  Nerinckx,  who  had  solicited  aid  for  them 
from  their  friends  in  Bruges,  Bornhem,  and 
-other  cities  where  they  were  known,  over  thirty 
chasubles,  some  complete  sets  of  vestments, 
among  which  a  beautiful  embroidered  one,  and  a 
quantity  of  the  very  best  Flemish  linen,  done 
up  in  albs, amices,  etc. 

Father  Nerinckx   also   gave  Rev.   Badin,  for 


356  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [LSI 7. 

his  several  congregations,  eight  chasubles ;  four 
to  Rev.  Chabrat,  etc.,  etc.  To  the  then  small 
convent  of  the  Daughters  of  Charity,  in  Naza- 
reth, he  donated  five  chasubles  and  a  remon- 
strance purchased  in  Mechlin.  The  churches  of 
St.  Charles  and  St.  Mary's  got  each  three  chasu- 
bles, linen,  a  chalice,  and  a  ciborium. 

A  sweet  little  bit  of  romance  is  attached  to 
those  two  last  named  ciboriums  that  will  en- 
hance their  value  in  the  eyes  of  their  happy 
owners.  Father  Nerinckx  having  staid  over 
night  with  a  pastor  in  Flanders,  could  not  help 
noticing  the  profound  veneration  which  the  old 
servant-girl  entertained  for  him.  He  was  so 
much  pleased  with  her  solid  piety  and  humble 
faith,  that,  notwithstanding  his  poverty,  he  re- 
solved to  give  her,  before  leaving,  a  little  gratuity, 
not  so  much  as  a  return  for  her  kind  services  as  a 
memento  of  the  missionary  priest.  But  before 
he  had  time  to  do  so,  the  poor  girl  had  slipped  a 
little  paper  into  his  hand  with  so  much  dexterity 
that  none  of  the  persons  present  noticed  it. 
When  he  afterward  examined  the  paper,  he  was 
not  a  little  surprised  to  find  in  it  a  guinea ! 
Having  had  occasion  to  pay  another  visit  to  the 
same  friend,  he  thanked  her  for  her  generosity, 
but  insisted  upon  her  taking  back  the  gold  coin. 
But  the  pious  housekeeper  told  Father  Ner- 
inckx  that  her  alms  being  given  to  the  poor 
American  missions,  and  not  to  him,  he  was  not 
at  liberty  to  refuse  her  gift.  "When  the  Trap- 
pi  sts  left  for  America,"  she  continued,  "I  gave 


1817.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  357 

them  a  chalice,  and  I  have  now  resolved  that 
you  also  shall  accept  one  from  me;"  and  so  say- 
ing, she  handed  the  astonished  priest  one  hun- 
dred guilders.  In  vain  did  he  urge  that  she  was 
poor ;  that  she  would  be  in  need  of  it  herself,  if 
not  now,  surely  later ;  that  he  did  not  like  to  ac- 
cept so  large  a  suin  from  a  person  in  her  cir- 
cumstances, etc.  She  cut  short  his  protestations 
by  telling  him  that  she  had  gained  the  money 
honestly,  by  working  hard  and  spinning  early  and 
late,  and  that  she  was  free  to  dispose  of  her  little 
treasure  as  she  had  a  mind  to.  The  missionary 
had  to  accept  it.  Neither  would  she  hear  of 
thanks;  like  a  true  christian,  "she  laid  up  for 
herself  treasures  in  heaven,  where  neither  the 
rust  nor  the  moth  doth  consume ;  and  where 
thieves  do  not  dig   through    nor  steal."*     JN'or 

could  he  obtain  her  name ;  Nelleken  N ,  an- 

cilla,  M.  B.,  (Nellie  N ,  servant-girl,  a  great 

benefactress,)  is  the  only  title  that  recalls  her 
memory  to  the  grateful  prayers  of  Loretto  in 
the  long  list  of  Belgian  benefactors.  "When 
doing  an  alms  deed,  she  did  not  sound  a  trumpet 
before  her,  .  .  .  that  she  might  be  honored 
by  men,  .  .  .  her  left  hand  knew  not  what 
her  right  hand  was  doing."*  Ah  !  how  many  a 
noble  soul,  now  living  in  retirement  and  ob- 
scurity, will  shine  like  the  brightest  gem  in  the 
light  of  Grod's  justice  at  the  last  day,  while  os- 
tentatious Pharisees  will  have  received  their 
reward    in   this   world,    and    be    covered   with 

*  Matth.  vi. 


358  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  XERINCKX.  [1817. 

shame  on  the  day  of  the  great  retribution ! 
Father  Nerinckx  devoted  the  generous  gift  to 
the  purchase  of  the  two  ciboriums  alkided 
to,  by  adding  a  little  mite  of  his  own.  May 
not  we  confidently  hope  that  Jesus  has  long 
since  introduced  to  the  celestial  mansions 
above,  the  charitable  soul  who  procured  him  a 
decent  receptacle  here  below? 

To  his  convent  of  Loretto,  Father  [N^erinckx 
gave  three  large  bells,  on  which  he  had  caused 
the  motto  of  the  society,  "  0  Suffering  Jesus ! 
0  Sorrowful  Mary!"  to  be  cast;  a  full  set  of 
white  vestments,  and  an  antependium  embroid- 
ered in  silver  and  gold  ;  and.  a  dress  and  mantle 
for  the  statue  of  the  Blessed  Virgin.  These  be- 
longed to  a  community  of  Benedictine  nuns,  of 
whom  Father  Nerinckx  bought  them,  and  they 
constitute  the  primm  classis  of  the  Mother-house 
of  the  Little  Society  of  the  Friends  of  Mary. 
The  same  house  obtained,  moreover,  a  full  set  of 
antique  and  very  fine  red  vestments,  partly  do- 
nated by  a  benefactor  of  Liege ;  a  cope  bought  out 
of  Father  Nerinckx'  own  scanty  means ;  six  or 
seven  chasubles,  among  which  a  superb  one 
presented  by  his  friend  Mr.  Peemans,  of  Louvain ; 
two  chalices,  a  ciborium,  a  remonstrance,  and  a 
good  supply  of  albs,  church  linen,  beads,  and  pic- 
tures, which  were  given  him  in  Belgium.  Be- 
sides these  donations.  Father  Nerinckx  spent 
over  three  hundred  francs  for  beads,  pictures, 
etc.,  for  his  missions.  He  subsequently  adorned 
the  convent  chapel  of  Calvary  with  the  taber- 


1817.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  359 

nacle  purchased  from  the  Recollet  Fathers  in 
Mechlin,  and  sent  three  chasubles,  a  chalice,  and 
some  altar  linen  for  its  use.  His  third  founda- 
tion, Gethsemani,  commenced  in  1818,  received 
a  complete  set  of  vestments  and  antependium, 
bought  from  an  old  abbey  in  the  diocese  of 
Liege  ;  also  a  silver  crucifix,  some  chasubles  and 
linen,  a  chalice,  ciborium,  and  remonstrance; 
most  of  these  being  the  donation  of  some  good 
souls  for  the  first  new  houses  he  would  establish 
after  his  return.  He  placed  in  the  chapel  of 
that  convent  the  tabernacle  which  used  to  adorn 
the  altar  of  the  chapel  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament, 
in  the  Metropolitan  church  of  St.  Rumoldus, 
Mechlin  (where  he  had  been  vicar,  and  first  ex- 
ercised the  ministry),  and  a  beautiful  Calvary, 
in  the  same  style,  purchased  in  the  same  city. 

About  a  hundred  paintings,  which  he  had  pur- 
chased, had  not  yet  reached  Kentucky  at  the 
date  of  writing  his  letter  (end  of  1818).  Among 
these  were  several  valuable  works  of  art,  two  of 
which  he  presented  to  the  Cathedral  of  Bards- 
town;  a  Crucifixion,  and  a  scene  of  St.  Bernard's 
life,  a  masterpiece  which  now  hangs  over  the 
altar  of  St.  Joseph  in  the  Cathedral  of  Louisville, 
and  which  he  is  said  to  have  purchased  from 
among  the  wrecks  of  a  church  that  had  recently 
been  sacked  by  the  French.  This  painting  re- 
presents St.  Bernard,  with  the  Sacred  Host  in 
his  hand,  giving  a  solemn  reproof  to  William 
of  Aquitaine  for  his  schismatical  and  licentious 
conduct.     Both   these  valuable   treasures   were 


(860  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [1817. 

removed   to  Louisville  on  the  transfer  of  the 
Episcopal  See  to  that  city,  in  1814. 

More  church  ornaments  and  a  quantity  of 
books  were  also  on  the  way  ;  the  former  were  in- 
tended for  his  twelve  country  missions,  which  had 
as  yet  had  but  a  small  share  of  the  bountiful 
supply  which  Father  Nerinckx  had  brought  with 
him. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

1817. 

Father  Nerinckx  in  Baltimore. — Mr.  and  Mrs.  Barber. — Father 
Beschter  and  the   Pennsylvania   farmer. — Father  Nerinckx' 

ARRIVAL  AT  LoRETTO.— FaTHER  RoSATI    AND    THE    INDIANS.— A  LIST 

OF  THE  Kentucky  clergy  in  1817. 

Guided  by  the  letter  written  to  his  parents  in 
1818,  we  will  now  follow  Rev.  Father  Nerinckx 
on  his  way  back  to  his  dear  Loretto.  The  nar- 
rative may  allude  to  many  events  more  fully  set 
forth  in  other  works,  but  perhaps  add  some  un- 
known details ;  we  therefore  give  it  as  edited  by 
J.  Lesage  Ten  Broeck : 

"  During  his  stay  in  Baltimore,  Rev.  Ner- 
inckx was  informed  of  the  fact  that  Mr.  Barber, 
one  of  the  three  protestant  ministers  who  had 
publicly  renounced  heresy  in  the  presence  of 
Father  Fenwick  in  New  York,  had  left  for  Rome, 
where  he  intended  to  join  the  Society  of  Jesus. 
His  wife,  who  became  a  convert  at  the  same 
time,  has,  after  mutual  consent,  also  embraced 
the  religious  state  in  the  Visitation  Convent  of 
Georgetown,  and  their  four  children  are  being 
•educated  in  the  academy  of  the  same  place. 
When  Luther  abandoned  the  catholic  church,  he 

(36 1) 


S62  LIFE  OF  ItEV.  CIIAELES  NERINCKX.  [1817. 

publicly  declared  that  he  could  not  live  without 
a  wife,  and  he  took  unto  himself  a  woman  con- 
secrated to  God.  Mr.  Barber,  abandoning  the 
sect  first  established  by  Luther,  proves  by  his 
conduct  that  he,  lately  a  preacher  of  error  and 
bound  to  a  wife,  finds  grace  enough  in  the  catho- 
lic religion  to  abandon  every  thing  to  follow 
Jesus,  and  to  embrace,  according  to  His  advice 
and  the  example  of  the  Apostles,  a  state  of 
greater  perfection.  His  wife,  on  the  other  hand, 
shows  to  the  world  that  a  married  woman  can 
live  without  a  husband  and  choose  evangelical 
perfection,  and  so  becomes  the  honorable  counter- 
part of  the  carnal  Catharine  Bora,  who  broke  her 
vows  to  become  the  wife  of  the  fallen  Luther ! 

"Mr.  Barber,  who  enjoyed  quite  an  enviable 
reputation  among  j^rotestants,  knew  but  too 
well  their  weakness  (!)  not  to  be  convinced  that 
they  would  calumniate  and  slander  him  in  every 
230ssible  way,  unless  he  guarded  himself  against 
their  malicious  attacks  by  prudence  and  circum- 
spection. Before  his  brother  ministers  became 
aware  of  his  intentions,  he  asked  them  for  a  tes- 
timonium, which  he  truly  said  to  want  for  very 
important  reasons.  They  readily  complied  with 
his  request,  and,  owing  to  his  acknowledged 
talents  and  good  parts,  gave  him  a  very  honor- 
able and  laudatory  commendation.  As  soon  as 
he  had  the  document  in  his  possession,  Mr.  Bar- 
ber delayed  no  longer  to  declare  himself  a  catho- 
lic, and  made  his  public  profession  of  faith,  to- 
gether with  two  other  protestant  preachers. 


1817.]         LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  363- 

"At  the  time  Father  [N'erinckx  was  in  Balti- 
more, the  Socinians  were  building  their  tirst 
meeting-house  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the 
new  Freemasons'  Lodge.  Well-assorted  neigh- 
bors, indeed !  It  was  also  during  his  sojourn  in 
the  city  that  there  fell  such  a  violent  and  long- 
continued  rain,  that,  in  a  few  hours,  a  large  por- 
tion of  the  capital  of  Maryland  was  under 
water ;  many  bridges  were  carried  away  by  the 
flood,  and  a  number  of  lives  were  lost. 

"  Willingly  would  the  pious  Father  Nerinckx 
have  visited  the  Sisters  of  Charity  in  Emmetts- 
burg,  and  the  Jesuits  of  Georgetown,  and  bid 
adieu  to  the  youn^-  men  whom  he  had  so  re- 
cently sent  there;  but  just  as  he  was  getting 
ready,  he  received  a  letter  from  his  Bishop, 
earnestly  entreating  him  to  continue  his  jour- 
ney. His  spirit  of  obedience  and  self-abnega- 
tion needed  no  more  to  forego  that  legitimate 
gratification,  and,  having  bought  a  horse  and 
saddle  for  the  sum  of  |140,  he  immediately  set 
out  on  his  wearisome  journey  of  nearly  seven 
hundred  miles. 

"  In  the  evening  of  the  same  day  he  reached 
Frederickstown,  where  he  was  received  with 
open  arms  by  the  two  resident  priests — Fathers 
Malleve,  his  old  friend,  and  Beschter,*  both 
Jesuits,  in  whose  pious  and  entertaining  com- 
pany he  spent  but  a  few  hours.  Father  Besch- 
ter communicated  to  him  the  welcome  intelli- 
gence that  he  would  soon  be  enabled  to  issue  a 

*Afterward  President  of  Georgetown  College. 


364  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1817. 

second  tract  on  the  doings  of  the  revolutionary 
society  of  Freemasons,  one  of  their  princi- 
pal men  having  made  his  profession  of  faith, 
and  having  placed  in  the  hands  of  said  Father 
many  interesting  documents  which  would  throw 
a  new  light  on  their  secret  doings.  Among 
many  other  interesting  anecdotes,  Father  Besch- 
ter  related  to  him  the  following  occurrence, 
which  created  at  the  time  considerable  merri- 
ment in  the  neighborhood  at  the  expense  of  the 
unlucky  farmer.  Whilst  building  the  beautiful 
church  of  Lebanon,  Pennsylvania,  which,  to- 
gether with  the  priest's  house,  cost  over  $6,000, 
Father  Beschter  went  arounij  collecting  alms  of 
all  those  who  were  willing  to  help  along  a  good 
work.  On  his  rounds  he  arrived  at  the  resi- 
dence of  a  rich  protestant  farmer,  and  asked  him 
for  a  small  donation  toward  the  erection  of  a 
-church  for  the  poor  catholics  of  the  district. 
The  gentleman  refused,  on  the  ground  that  he 
always  paid  himself  for  what  he  wanted,  and 
never  went  to  others  for  help.  Father  Beschter 
havino;  asked  him  whether  he  never  stood  in 
need  of  any  body's  aid,  he  gruffly  replied  that 
he  did  not;  and  upon  a  second  and  emphasized 
inquiry  of  the  priest,  an  impatient  "  No,  sir !  get 
thee  out,"  was  sufficient  intimation  that  he  had 
better  leave.  "All  right!"  said  the  humble  dis- 
ciple of  Ignatius,  without  the  least  alteration  in 
his  manner  or  voice,  and  he  left  the  premises. 
In  the  course  of  the  day,  the  farmer  strolled  to 
where  his  men  were  working  in  the  field,  and, 


1817.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  365- 

highly  ehxted  over  his  exploit,  related  to  them 
how  he  had  "fixed  that  Romish  priest."  A 
week  later,  a  heavy  freshet,  occasioned  by  sud- 
den rain,  completely  destroyed  his  mill  and 
flooded  his  fields,  inflicting  incalculable  damage 
on  the  now  crest-fallen  bigot,  who  did  not  enjoy 
it  half  so  well  when  the  men  recalled  to  his 
mind  how  he  fixed  that  Romish  priest,  and  hinted 
that,  forsooth,  he  might  be  in  need  of  another 
man's  help  sooner  than  he  expected. 

"  Biddino-  o-ood-bve  to  his  friends.  Father  IS'er- 
inckx  was  again  in  the  saddle,  and  four  days' 
traveling  brought  him  to  Pittsburg,  where  he 
was  obliged  to  exchange  horses,  his  pony's  back 
being  too  sore  to  stand  the  saddle.  Having 
reached  Lewistown,  in  Kentucky,  he  again  had 
to  trade  horses,  his  being  so  lame  that  it  could 
not  carry  him  further.  Here  he  also  had  the 
misfortune  to  fall  down  a  steep  flight  of  stairs. 
He  had  put  up  at  a  house  for  the  night,  and  hav- 
ing got  up  early  in  the  morning,  in  order  tO' 
start  before  daylight,  as  was  his  custom,  he 
missed  the  steps  and  fell  all  the  way  down,  with 
evident  danger  of  bis  life,  escaping,  however,  with 
a  few  severe  contusions.  Thanking  God  for  his- 
almost  miraculous  preservation,  he  continued  his 
journey  toward  Loretto,  where  he  arrived  with- 
out further  mishap  on  the  4th  of  September, 
1817,  after  an  absence  of  two  years." 

"Our  father,"  writes  Sister  L ,   "arrived 

at  early  twilight  on  Thursday  evening.  The 
family  being  rather  on  a  slight  lookout  for  him^ 


,366  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1817. 

readily  perceived  his  entrance  at  the  big  gate,  as  it 
was  called.  Notice  was  instantly  given  from 
one  to  another,  and  presently  all  were  in  the 
yard  advancing  to  meet  their  worthy,  good,  and 
duly  cherished  father.  All  were  delighted  to 
see  him,  and  he  also  seemed  equally  rejoiced  to 
see  his  devoted  children.  He  had  a  blessing 
and  a  smile  for  every  one,  clearly  showing  his 
extreme  happiness  in  being  once  more  at  his  lit- 
tle home,  Loretto.  He  had  all  to  accompany 
him  into  the  church  and  to  unite  with  him  in  a 
short  public  prayer  of  thanks  to  God  for  his 
o-reat  success  and  for  his  safe  return.  He  then, 
in  a  few  words,  recounted  to  them  his  visit  to 
Rome,  and  to  Grreat  Loretto  in  Italy ;  also,  his 
visit  to  Belgium,  and  the  great  success  with 
which  Divine  Providence  was  pleased  to  favor 
him  whilst  there,  and  he  requested  that  from 
that  time  forward  the  Family,  in  all  its  branch- 
houses,  would  ever  pray  for  its  generous  bene- 
factors of  Belgium.  He  then  left  the  church, 
and,  being  yet  at  the  door,  was  immediately  sur- 
rounded by  all,  for  the  sake  of  hearing  him  speak 
a  few  words  more,  aware  that  they  could  not  ac- 
company him  any  further.  He  again  talked 
with  them  for  a  while,  and  then  withdrew  till 
Mass  next  morning.  His  luggage  did  not  arrive 
till  about  three  months  after." 

"On  the  8th  of  September,  feast  of  the 
Nativity  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  Father  Ner- 
inckx,  anxious  to  pay  his  respects  to  Bishop 
Flaget,  visited   him   at   St.  Thomas  Seminary, 


1817.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX  367 

three  miles  from  the  episcopal  cit}^  Here  he 
met  with  Very  Rev.  de  Andreis,  Vicar-general 
of  Bishop  Dubourg  and  founder  of  the  Congre- 
gation of  the  Mission  in  America,  who,  with 
two  other  Lazarists,  Messrs.  Rosati  and  Acqua- 
roni,  was  awaiting  the  arrival  of  the  Bishop. 
Three  Brothers  of  the  Christian  Doctrine  and 
four  Flemish  students  were  also  staying  at  the 
Seminary  at  the  time. 

"  Father  Nerinckx  next  paid  a  visit  to  Rev. 
Badin,  with  whom  he  found  a  young  Flemish 
priest  from  the  environs  of  Alost,  who  belonged 
to  the  retinue  of  the  Bishop  of  Louisiana.  He 
had  joined  Mgr.  Dubourg  in  Ghent,  and  to- 
gether with  some  other  .young  men  from  Flan- 
ders, who  designed  to  help  toward  the  material 
prosperity  of  the  mission  by  tilling  the  ground, 
had  the  intention  of  forming  a  religious  com- 
munity bound  by  vows  to  further  the  good  of  re- 
ligion in  Louisiana." 

"When  I  arrived  at  the  Seminary,"  writes 
Rev.  [NTerinckx  in  1818,  "the  three  Italian  Laza- 
rists were  already  working  on  the  English  speak- 
ing mission,  and  gave  proof  of  great  talents. 
One  of  them,  Father  Rosati,  who  is  teaching 
dogmatic  theology,  gave  a  mission  in  Post  Vin- 
cennes,  and  had  the  happiness  of  baptizing  an 
Indian  chief's  son.  The  young  man  died 
shortly  after,  and  the  other  Indians  expressed 
a  great  desire  of  enjoying  some  day  the  same 
blessing.  Whilst  the  Lazarist  was  still  amonir 
them,  two  protestant  preachers  arrived   at  the 


368  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [1817. 

Indian  encampment,  bearing  to  those  benighted 
savages  the  heavenly  tiding  embodied  in  their^ 
Bible,  and  promising  them  true  happiness. 
The  Indians  inquired  of  them  whether  the  mas- 
ters who  had  sent  them  were  Blackgowns  ?  Hav- 
ing replied  in  the  negative,  the  poor  fellows  were 
next  asked  whether  they  had  crucifixes?  'No, 
they  had  not.  Had  they  wives?  Yes,  they 
had.  'Ah,  well !'  remarked  the  chiefs,  '  you  are 
no  better  than  we  are,  and  we  do  not  stand  in 
need  of  you  or  yours.'  What  an  important 
proof  of  the  influence  which  an  unmarried 
priest,  distinguished  as  such  from  the  gener- 
ality of  people,  has  over  even  the  uncivilized 
savages!  Post  Vincennes  has  obtained  two 
distinguished  young  French  j^riests  from  the 
Bishop  of  Louisiana,  and  so  has  Detroit.* 

"  The  new  diocese  in  the  State  of  Louisianaf 
offers  the  grandest  prospects  of  success  for  our 
holy  religion,  and  promises  to  become  soon  one  of 
the  most  interesting  missionary  fields  of  Christen- 
dom. The  superior  qualifications  of  Monseign- 
eur  Dubourg,  the  excellency  and  the  number  of 
his  co-laborers  in  that  vineyard  of  our  Lord,  the 
vastness  of  the  diocese  in  which  an  uncommon 
and  admirable  zeal  is  stirring  up  alike  the  In- 
dians and  the  civilized;  every  thing  seems  to- 
promise  the  realization  of  these  fond  hopes. 
Some  little  grains  of  the  old  seed  sown  by  the- 

*They  were   MM.  Blanc   and    Jeanjean,  appointed   for  Vin- 
cennes, and  MM.  Bertrand  and  Janvier  for  Detroit. 
•(•St.  Louis,  in  what  was  then  called  tapper  Louisiana. 


1817.]         LIFE  OF  KEV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  86^ 

hand  of  the  ever  faithful  and  never  equaled 
Jesuits  have  been  preserved,  and  the  Nether- 
landers,  so  long  persecuted  for  their  faith,  can 
not  but  rejoice  and  be  encouraged  at  the  sight  of 
the  miraculous  workings  of  their  all-conquering 
and  never  conquered  faith  !  I  am  sure  that  every 
year's  record  will  offer  material  enough  to  fill  a 
pamphlet  with  religious  news  and  edifying 
sketches. 

"  In  Kentucky,  the  laborers  are  working  zeal- 
ously enough,  but  their  number  is  too  small  to 
satisfy  the  demands  and  the  wants  of  the  people,, 
and  to  gather  in  the  great  harvest  ready  for  the 
reaper.  The  American  youth  is  yet  too  little 
prepared  to  think  of  a  religious  vocation,  and 
the  seminary  too  devoid  of  means  of  support  to 
be  useful  to  the  desired  extent ;  besides,  our 
catholics  are  too  few  in  number  and  too  2^oor  to 
suppl}^  the  necessary  means.  This  state  of  af- 
fairs, notwithstanding  the  feeble  efforts  of  a  few 
missionaries  supported  by  the  pious  generosity 
of  my  Belgian  countrymen,  have  already  been 
blessed  in  a  miraculous  manner ! 

"  The  entire  Kentucky  clergy  consists  of  the 
following : 

"  1.  Right  Kev.  Benedict  Joseph  Flaget,  bora 
in  Clermont,*  a  Sulpitian  of  Paris  ;  lately  profes- 

*The  Bi.shop  was  born  in  the  town  of  Contournat,  commune 
of  St.  Julien,  not  far  from  Billom,  in  Auvergne,  France.  Billom. 
is  about  ten  miles  from  Clermont  Ferrand.  See  Life  of  Bishop^ 
Flaget,  by  Bishop  Spalding. 


370  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [1817. 

sor  in  the  Seminary  of  Baltimore,  and  now  first 
JBishop  of  Bardstown. 

"  2.  Right  Rev.  J.  David,  Frenchman  and 
Sulpitian  ;  formerly  professor  and  missionary  in 
Maryland ;  later,  president  of  St.  Thomas  Theo- 
logical Seminary  in  Kentucky,  and  now  nomi- 
nated by  the  Holy  See,  Coadjutor  of  the  diocese 
of  Bardstown. 

"  3.  Rev.  Father  Badin,  the  oldest  priest  on 
the  mission  in  these  regions. 

"  4.  Rev.  Charles  Nerinckx,  a  Belgian,  the 
third  one  in  point  of  years. 

"  5.  Rev.  Father  Chabrat,  the  first  priest  or- 
dained by  the  Bishop  of  Bardstown;  a  zealous 
and  able  Sulpitian. 

"  6.  Rev.  Father  Olivier,  an  old  and  venerable 
French  priest  of  over  seventy  years  of  age,  mis- 
sionary in  Kaskaskias,  in  the  Illinois  Territory. 

"  7.  Rev.  Father  De  Rigaut,  a  Frenchman  or- 
dained in  Kentucky,  and  devoted  to  the  super- 
intendence of  the  temporal  interests  of  the 
diocese. 

"  8.  Rev.  Father  Mary  Joseph,  Prior  of  the 
Trappists,  who  thought  of  settling  in  Illinois, 
but  who  is  on  his  wa}^  back  with  the  intention 
of  rejoining  his  order  in  France. 

"9.  Rev.  Father  Abel,  a  young  American 
priest,  twenty-five  years  old,  and  endowed  with 
the  most  distinguished  qualities  and  superior 
talents.  He  is  Father  IsTerinckx'  pupil,  and  his 
successor  in  the  administration  of  his  distant 
congregations. 


1817.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  371 

"  10.  Rev.  Charles  Cooms,  also  a  young 
American  priest,  ordained  at  the  same  time  with 
Pather  Abel. 

"  The  convent  of  the  Dominicans  consists  of 
Rev.  Father  Adam  Wilson,  an  Englishman,  and 
tirst  Provincial  of  the  new  mission  in  America ; 
Rev.  Father  Edward  Fenwick,  an  American, 
Prior ;  Rev.  Father  Argier,  and  Rev.  Father 
Tuite.  These  four  are  all  elderly  men,  and 
were  formerly  in  the  Bornhem  convent,  near 
Antwerp,  Belgium.  The  four  others  are  young 
priests,  viz  :  Rev,  Fathers  Willet,  Miles,  and 
the  two  Montgomerys,  and  complete  the  list. 
So  that,  all  told,  we  have  in  Kentucky  eighteen 
priests,  two  of  whom  are  Bishops. 

"  The  Dominicans  are  also  zealously  and  effi- 
ciently at  work  in  Ohio.  Rev.  Father  Fenwick  ac- 
companied by  his  nephew.  Rev.  K.  D.  Young,  left 
Kentucky,  in  1818,  to  establish  a  mission  there, 
and  to  found  an  establishment  for  the  education 
of  youth.  They  haA^e  found  many  German  Catho- 
lics in  these  regions,  and  are  desirous  of  having 
a  few  German  priests,  with  good  recommenda- 
tions, to  join  them  in  their  new  field  of  labor. 
They  write  to  the  Bishop  of  Bardstown  that  the 
Methodists  come  over  in  scores,  anxious  to  be  re- 
ceived into  the  catholic  church.  That  extraor- 
dinary number  of  conversions  is  especially  due 
to  the  publication  of  a  controversial  tract,  show- 
ing the  want  of  a  legitmate  mission  outside  of 
the  true  church  of  Christ ;  it  has  had  the  most 
happy  results,  and  has  made  them  leave  their 


372  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [1817. 

unlawful  preachers  to  follow  the  legitimately  ap- 
pointed pastors  of  the  catholic  church. 

"  Shortly  after  my  arrival  in  Loretto,  the 
Bishop  started  on  a  missionary  trip  around  his 
diocese,  especially  among  the  neighboring  scat- 
tered Indian  tribes  of  the  Northwest.  He  in- 
tends to  go  as  far  as  Quebec,  in  Canada,  where 
he  is  invited  to  assist  at  the  consecration  of  the 
newly  appointed  Bishop  of  Havana. 

"  In  a  recent  letter,  the  Bishop  tells  me  that 
he  met  with  a  roving  tribe  of  Indians.  Desir- 
ous to  know  to  what  church  they  belonged,  he 
made  the  sign  of  the  cross,  the  want  of  knowl- 
edge of  their  language  preventing  any  better 
mode  of  conversation.  They  signed  themselves 
immediately  in  the  same  manner  with  boister- 
ous expressions  of  delight,  and  some  having  run 
to  their  encampment,  soon  returned  with  frag- 
ments of  old  beads  which  they  held  up  to  him 
with,  beaming  countenances.  One  of  them, 
somewhat  of  an  interpreter,  told  the  Bishop 
that  some  Presbyterian  and  Calvinistic  preach- 
ers and  Biblemongers  had  been  among  them, 
but  that  they  refused  to  listen  to  them  or  to 
keep  them  in  their' midst.  He  also  managed  to 
make  the  Bishop  understand  that,  years  ago, 
they  had  received  the  first  rudiments  of  the 
true  faith  from  a  Jesuit  Father  who  had  been 
some  time  with  them." 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

1817-1819. 

Father  Nerinckx  resumes  the  direction  of  his  sisterhood. — 
Establishment  of  Calvary,  1816,  and  Gethsemani,  1818.— St. 
Augustine's,  Lebanon. — Father  Nerinckx  introduces  Rev.  Abel 
to  his  more  distant  missions. — He  purchases  Mount  Mart's 
for  a  brotherhood. — Its  subsequent  history. 

Before  leaving  on  his  diocesan  visitation, 
Bishop  Flaget  wanted  to  resign  into  Father 
Nerinckx'  hands  the  full  superiorship  of  the 
Sisters  of  Loretto,  the  duties  of  which  he  had 
now  filled  for  tw^o  years  with  the  most  consol- 
ing results.  But  the  humble  priest,  fully  con- 
vinced of  his  inability  to  discharge  so  important 
an  office,  was  unwilling  to  accept  the  burden. 
"  He  alleged  his  want  of  piety  and  prudence,  of 
knowledge  and  experience,  as  a  sufficient  reason 
to  refuse  being  the  Superior  of  a  community  of 
nuns.  He  insisted  upon  it,  that  the  Bishop 
should  retain  the  office  of  Superior  of  the  new 
community,  and  act  in  all  cases  as  such ;  as  for 
himself,  he  would  willingly  do  all  he  could  as 
well  in  temporal  as  in  spiritual  aff"airs.  He  felt 
all  possible  interest  in  the  advancement  of  so 
useful  an  institution,  and  would  be  happy  to  de- 

(3T3) 


374  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1S17- 

vote  himself  to  the  welfare  of  the  sisters,  who 
looked  upon  him  as  their  father  and  friend,  if 
the  Bishop  thought  proper.  His  Lordship  fully 
yielded  the  point.  He  consented  to  assume  the 
title  of  Superior  of  the  community,  with  the 
understanding  that  Father  Nerinckx  would  re- 
sume the  full  management  of  the  affairs  of  the 
Society,  of  which  he  was  in  reality  the  founder ; 
and  all  things  being  satisfactorily  settled.  Bishop 
Flaget  gave  us  his  blessing,  bade  adieu  to  all, 
and  returned  once  more  to  his  cherished  little 
Seminary  of  St.  Thomas."* 

When  Father  Nerinckx  left  for  Europe  in 
1815,  there  were  fourteen  sisters  in  the  com- 
munity. At  successive  receptions  and  profes- 
sions, ten  new  members  were  added  to  it,  and 
this  encouraging  increase  of  the  sisterhood  in- 
duced Bishop  Flaget  to  found,  on  the  10th  of 
June,  1816,  the  first  branch  establishment,  at 
Holy  Mary's,  under  the  name  of  Calvary.  An 
effort  had  been  made  to  form  a  society  of  widows, 
who  should  live  there  under  a  mitigated  form  of 
the  Loretto  rules ;  an  attempt  was  effectually 
set  on  foot,  but,  owing  to  the  limited  number  of 
applicants  who  felt  disposed  to  leave  the  world 
and  live  a  community  life,  the  idea  was  soon 
given  up,  and  a  colony  of  sisters  sent  in  their 
place.  Sister  Christina  was  the  first  Superior  of 
Calvary,  and  she  died  there.  Father  Nerinckx 
gives  the  following  account  of  her  in  his  notes 
of  1819:    "Sister  Christa  or  Christina  died  at 

*  Personal  recollections  of  Sister  L . 


18 !9.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  375 

Calvary,  being  Sujoerior  or  Sister  Eldest  at  the 
time.  Already,  before  being  a  nun,  she  was  re- 
puted among  all  our  catholics  as  the  most  pious 
and  accomplished  young  lady  then  living  in  the 
country.  •  I  never  saw  one  more  attentive  to  re- 
ligious duties  than  I  have  known  her  to  be  for 
eleven  years  in  and  out  of  the  world.  She  died 
as  she  had  lived." 

On  his  return  Father  JSTerinckx  first  directed 
his  attention  to  the  spiritual  wants  of  his  flock, 
and  gave  the  sisters  their  first  retreat,  which 
ended  September  24,  1817,  with  a  solemn  recep- 
tion and  profession.  Ho  then  set  to  work 
with  more  energy  than  ever  to  increase  the  So- 
ciety's field  of  usefulness.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  James 
Dent,  whose  generous  offer  we  already  noticed 
in  a  former  chapter,  again  offered  to  Father 
Nerinckx  their  house  and  farm  for  the  establish- 
ment of  a  convent,  in  the  latter  part  of  1817. 
This  place  was  well  known  to  many,  on  account 
of  the  piety,  christian  benevolence,  and  hospital- 
ity of  its  owners.  It  was  here  the  missionary 
would  stop  to  say  Mass,  administer  the  sacra- 
ments, etc. ;  and,  from  a  picture  of  St.  Barbara, 
hung  up  in  the  room  set  apart  for  divine  ser- 
vices, the  place  was  known  by  the  name  of  St. 
Barbara's.  Having  no  children  to  provide 
for,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dent  resolved  to  devote 
part  of  their  property  to  the  benefit  of  the 
Friends  of  Mary,  and  Father  Nerinckx  thank- 
fully accepted  the  offer.  Mr.  Dent,  having  made 
suitable  preparations,  moved  to  a  fine  farm  ad- 


376  LIFE  OF  REV.  CIIAELES  NERINCKX.         [1817- 

joining  the  one  which  he  gave  to  the  sisters,  and 
in  March,  1818,  six  sisters,  with  Sister  Teresa  as 
superior,  took  possession  of  the  house,  situated 
on  Pottinger's  Creek,  in  Nelson  county.  Father 
JN'erinckx  called  it  Gethsemani,  in  memory  of  the 
agony  of  our  Lord  in  the  garden.  He  gave  the 
new  establishment  a  handsome  share  of  the 
goods,  which  had  arrived  from  Belgium  on  the 
previous  27th  of  December,  and  soon  after  built, 
at  his  own  expense,  a  grist-mill  on  the  place,  for 
the  benefit  of  the  sisters. 

The  new  community  did  not  long  enjoy  the 
prudent  and  wise  mother  which  their  director 
had  given  them.  She  died  shortly  after  its 
foundation,  and  is  referred  to  in  Father  ISTerinckx' 
notes  in  the  following  terms :  "  Sister  Teresa, 
of  the  G-rundies,  had  not  a  catholic  father,  and 
she  lost  him  and  her  mother  in  the  space  of  five 
days.  Being  left  an  orphan,  she  had  a  great 
struggle  to  keep  from  heresy  and  corruption 
among  grand  and  wealthy  relations.  She  chose 
Loretto  for  schooling,  stood  her  ground,  joined 
the  society,  behaved  well  and  was  beloved,  be- 
came the  first  mother  of  Gethsemani,  and  died, 
as  the  Right  Rev.  Bishop  observed  to  me  in  a 
letter,  a  Saint." 

The  Gethsemani  house  existed  till  1848, 
when  it  was  sold  to  the  colony  of  Trappist  monks, 
who  came  from  France  on  a  second  attempt  to 
establish  their  order  in  Kentucky.  This  venture 
was  more  fortunate  than  the  first ;  they  occupy 
the  convent  to  this  day,  and  are  prospering. 


3819.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  377 

But  how  did  the  sisters  live  ?  Who  supported 
them  ?  Father  Nerinckx  answers  these  questions 
in  a  letter  to  his  parents,  dated  1818. 

"  They  keep  boarders  at  $50  a  year,  in  order 
to  give  an  opportunity  to  all  classes  of  procuring 
II  catholic  education  for  their  daughters.  The 
great  objection  is :  How  can  those  diiferent  estab- 
lishments subsist  without  miracle  ?  How  can 
such  an  institution  go  on  without  incurring  the 
blame  of  rashness,  since  the  church  always  re- 
quires sufficient  means  of  support  before  she  ap- 
proves of  an  institution  ?  I  acknowledge  my 
inability  of  giving  you  a  satisfactory  answer; 
but  I  know  this  much :  The  institute  has  been 
commenced  under  the  sanction  of  a  legitimate 
IBishop;  it  has  grown  in  the  most  wonderful 
manner  to  its  present  proportions  ;  it  now  exists, 
for  the  last  six  years,  without  incurring  a  cent  of 
debt ;  the  Sacred  Propaganda  has  taken  it  under 
its  protection,  and  enriched  it  with  many  spirit- 
ual favors ;  it  works  wonders  of  spiritual  fruits 
for  our  catholic  population ;  the  protestants 
themselves  approve  of  it,  and  desire  to  have 
houses  established  in  their  midst.  In  one  word, 
and  here  I  think  is  the  great  secret  of  success, 
we  here  behold  feeble  women  seeking  first,  and 
above  all,  the  kingdom  of  God  and  its  jus- 
tice, so  that  we  may  believe,  without  presuming 
too  much  on  the  promises  of  the  infallible 
providence  of  a  God  ever  true  to  His  word,  that 
€very  thing  else  will  be  added  unto  them. 


378  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERTNCKX.         [1817- 

We  may  here  add,  in  answer  to  these  ques- 
tions, what  the  humble  priest  did  not  say :  "  Mr. 
Nerinckx  watched  over  the  new  institution  with 
the  tender  solicitude  of  a  parent.  He  devoted 
to  the  spiritual  instruction  of  the  sisters  and  of 
their  scholars  all  the  time  he  could  spare  from 
the  heavier  duties  of  his  missionary  life.  He 
endeavored  to  infuse  into  them  his  own  spirit  of 
prayer  and  mortification.  He  labored  assidu- 
ously, both  by  word  and  example,  to  disengage 
them  entirely  from  the  world,  and  to  train  them 
to  the  practice  of  a  sublime  christian  perfection. 
He  ardently  sought  to  keep  alive  in  their  hearts 
the  true  spirit  of  the  religious  vocation;  to 
make  them  despise  the  world,  trample  on  its 
vanities,  and  devote  themselves  wholly  to  the 
service  of  God  and  of  the  neighbor,  by  a  faith- 
ful compliance  with  the  duties  growing  out  of 
the  three  simple  vows  of  poverty,  chastity,  and 
obedience  they  had  taken. 

"  Especially  did  he  endeavor  to  impress  upon 
them  the  obligation  of  placing  implicit  reliance 
on  the  good  providence  of  God,  not  only  in  their 
spiritual,  but  also  in  all  their  temporal  concerns. 
A  favorite  maxim,  which  he  had  always  in  his 
heart  and  frequently  on  his  lips,  was  embodied 
in  this  golden  saying :  '  Do  not  abandon  Provi- 
dence, and  he  will  never  abandon  you.'  How 
would  that  good  Heavenly  Father,  who  '  clothes 
the  lilies  of  the  field,  and  feeds  the  birds  of  the 
air,'  abandon   those  who  had  put  all  their  trust 


1819.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CflARLES  NERINCKX.  379 

in  Him,  and  had  devoted  themselves  entirely^ 
both  in  body  and  soul,  to  His  service  ? 

"In  fact,  this  unbounded  confidence  in  the 
providence  of  God  was  almost  the  only  legacy 
he  was  able  to  bequeath  to  the  Lorettines. 
They  had,  in  the  commencement  of  their  so- 
ciety, but  little  of  this  world's  goods  to  depend 
upon.  It  was  not  difficult  for  them  to  practice 
the  poverty  which  they  had  vowed  :  they  were 
already  extremely  poor  and  destitute  ;  and,  in  ful- 
filling their  vow,  they  had  but  to  love  and  sub- 
mit cheerfully  to  that  which  was  a  stern  neces- 
sity of  their  condition.  Their  houses  were  poor 
and  badly  furnished ;  their  clothing  was  of  the 
plainest  kind,  and  their  food  was  of  the  coarsest. 

"Mr.  Nerinckx  himself  set  them  the  example 
of  the  poverty  and  mortification  which  their  in- 
stitute required  them  to  love  as  well  as  practice. 
According  to  the  testimony  of  his  Bishop,  '  he 
himself  led  an  extremely  austere  and  mortified 
life ;  his  dress,  his  lodging,  his  food,  was  poor ; 
and  he  had  filled  his  monasteries  with  this  holy 
spirit.  Those  women  sought  for  povert}^  in 
every  thing ;  in  their  monasteries,  in  the  plain 
simplicity  of  their  chapels.  The  neatness,  the 
cleanliness,  the  simplicity,  of  their  dwellings 
and  of  their  chapels,  excited  the  wonder  of  their 
visitors.'  "* 

About   this  time,  Father  Nerinckx  w^as  also- 

*"  Sketches  of  Kentucky,"  by  Archbishop  Spalding;  and  let- 
ter of  Bishop  Flaget  to  Bishop  England,  in  U.  S.  Catholic  Mis- 
cellany, December  8,  1824. 


380  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1817- 

seriously  contemplating  the  foundation  of  a 
house  in  what  is  now  the  State  of  Missouri.  On 
this  subject,  he  wrote,  in  1818:  "During  my 
absence,  the  request  which  Father  Lacroix,  a 
young  Flemish  priest  of  Missouri,  had  made  be- 
fore my  departure,  of  sending  a  colony  of  Lo- 
rettines  to  Louisiana,  has  been  reiterated;  and- 
I  have  directed  seven  of  our  sisters  to  hold 
themselves  in  readiness  to  leave,  in  order  to 
found  a  new  house  in  Louisiana  or  Missouri 
Territory,  my  intention  being  to  have  them  con- 
secrate themselves  to  the  welfare  and  education 
of  the  young  Indian  girls.  This  new  colony 
will  be  established  under  the  name  of  Olivetines, 
near  Bois  Bride,  four  hundred  miles  west  of  Lo- 
retto,  at  a  short  distance  from  the  Mississippi 
and  Missouri,  where  a  Seminary  is  being  built."* 
Whilst  attending  to  the  most  urgent  needs  of 
the  sisterhood.  Father  Nerinckx  was  just  as  so- 
licitous about  the  wants  of  his  several  congrega- 
tions. He  had  made  arrangements  for  the 
building  of  a  brick  church,  St.  Augustine's,  Leba- 
non, in  1815,  and  on  his  return  had  set  to  work 
with  all  possible  haste  in  order  to  make  a  good 
start  before  the  Winter  of  1817-18.  It  was  the 
third  brick  church  built  by  the  catholics  of  Ken- 
tucky, St.  Patrick's,  Danville,  being  the  first, 
and  St.  Rose's  the  second.  The  fourth  one,  the 
cathedral   of    Bardstown,    was,    it   appears,    be- 

*At  the  Barrens,  where  the  Lazarists  Were  building.  The  sis- 
ters subsequently  went,  and  of  course  retained  their  name  of 
JLoreitines. 


1819.]  LIFE  OF  EEV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  381 

gun  early  in  1818.  The  first  trustees  appointed 
under  the  direction  of  Father  Nerinckx  for  the 
Lebanon  church,  were  Clement  Hamilton,  Clem- 
ent Parsons,  and  Clement  Hill.  The  church 
was  not  completed  until  1820,  under  Father 
David  Deparcq. 

Having  taken  all  necessary  measures  for  the 
continuance  of  the  work,  he  started  from  Lo- 
retto,  loaded  with  the  church  articles  which  he 
had  reserved  for  his  missionary  stations,  to 
visit,  very  likely  for  the  last  time,*  his  distant 
congregations,  the  administration  of  which  he 
intended  to  leave  to  his  American  pupil.  Rev. 
Abel,  who  accompanied  him.  They  met  at 
Gethsemani,  twelve  miles  from  Loretto,  the 
rendezvous  previously  agreed  upon,  and  started 
immediately  for  the  new  station  of  St.  Ignatius, 
Hardin  county,  where  they  remained  several 
days.  Whilst  here,  Rev.  Father  Abel  visited 
ElizabetMown,  the  county  seat  of  the  then  Canton 
(now  Hardin)  county.  Having  previously  sent 
word  of  his  arrival,  he  found  a  numerous  and 
motley  assembly  of  Anabaptists,  Methodists, 
etc.,  in  attendance  at  the  court-house,  a  neat  and 
handsome  structure  for  those  times.  He  was- 
listened  to  with  the  closest  attention,  and  he  ex- 
plained, to  the  apj)arent  satisfaction  of  all 
parties  present,  the  to  them  unpalatable  truth 
that  out  of  the  catholic  church  there  is  no  sal- 
vation. At  the  conclusion  of  his  speech,  they 
all  crowded  around  him  and  invited  him  to  come 

*  We  quote  again  Father  Nerinckx'  letter  of  1818. 


382  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1817- 

again.  One  of  the  leading  Baptists  of  the 
place  was  heard  to  exclaim :  "  Henceforth,  I 
have  done  with  all  other  preaching."  An 
elderly  lady  of  the  same  sect  shook  hands  with 
the  priest,  and  expressing  her  gratification  at 
having  been  present,  requested  him  to  visit  her 
family.  A  prominent  merchant  of  the  town, 
one  of  the  county  officers,  invited  him  to  dinner, 
and  stated  that  he  would  not  have  missed  that 
sermon  for  twenty  dollars,  and  promised  that,  in 
case  the  catholics  would  build  a  church  in  Eliza- 
bethtown,  he  would  be  happy  to  contribute  to- 
ward its  erection,  and  would  use  all  his  influence 
to  make  the  undertaking  successful. 

"  The  missionaries  next  bent  their  steps  to  the 
residence  of  a  Methodist,  twenty  miles  further, 
wdio  had  promised  them  five  hundred  acres  for 
the  erection  of  a  church  and  convent.  They 
were  well  i^eceived,  and,  notwithstanding  the  fact 
that  the  man  had  a  brother  who  was  a  Methodist 
preacher.  Rev.  Abel  was  invited  to  address  a 
promiscuous  crowd,  which  had  gathered  around 
the  house,  and  did  so  to  the  satisfaction  of  all, 
only  two  catholic  families  being  present.  They 
oifered  great  inducements  to  have  a  catholic 
church,  and  a  nunnery  for  the  education  of  their 
children,  established  in  their  midst,  and  re- 
quested the  two  priests  to  call  again,  and  favor 
them  with  a  sermon. 

"  St.  Rumoldus  congregation  (now  Hardins- 
burg,  Breckinridge  county),  twenty  miles  dis- 
tant,  was   their   next   stopping  place.     Father 


1819.]         LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  383 

Nerinckx  had  built  a  church  here,  and  now  se- 
cured some  land  for  the  erection  of  a  priest's 
house  and  a  convent  school.  Although  this  was 
the  first  missionary  trip  of  the  young  American 
23riest,  Father  T^erinckx  insisted  upon  his  per- 
forming all  the  pastoral  duties,  he  himself  filling 
the  humble  position  of  '  altar-boy,'  as  he  play- 
fully called  it. 

"  On  their  way  to  Morganfield,  a  hundred 
miles  from  St.  Rumoldus,  they  stopped  at  St.' 
Francis  Xavier,  a  station  of  little  importance, 
fifty  miles  distant  from  either  place,  and  arrived, 
much  fatigued,  but  ever  ready  for  the  arduous 
missionary  work,  at  the  county  seat  of  Union 
county,  a  mission  consecrated  to  the  Sacred 
Heart  of  Jesus.  Father  Abel  again  preached  at 
the  court-house,  and  the  attentive  gathering  only 
found  one  fault  with  the  lengthy  sermon  of  the 
American  youth :  '  It  was  too  short ! '  The 
most  bitter  animosity  and  prejudice  against  the 
catholic  church  were  rife  among  protestants  in 
that  section  of  the  country.  And  yet,  at  the 
conclusion  of  the  sermon,  the  head  of  the  Free- 
masons publicly  testified  his  satisfaction.  One 
of  the  most  prominent  townsmen  loudly  pro- 
claimed that  he  never  heard  a  better  sermon, 
and  that,  should  he  ever  join  any  church,  'he 
would  be  a  Roman ! '  For  the  time  being, 
Father  Abel  was  the  hero  of  the  day.  '  This  is 
the  noblest  youth  that  ever  was  raised  in  Ken- 
tucky,' was  the  unanimous  verdict  of  every  prot- 
estant   in   Morganfield.     As   a  result   of    their 


384  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1817- 

labors,  one  hundred  and  ten  acres  of  land  were 
donated  toward  the  erection  of  a  catholic  school. 

"  Whilst  here,  letters  were  handed  to  the 
missionaries,  inviting  them  to  push  on  fifty  miles 
further ;  but,  their  time  being  limited,  they  had 
to  refuse  the  pressing  invitation  with  the  prom- 
ise of  calling  the  next  time  Father  Abel  would 
come  around. 

"  Fathers  Nerinckx  and  Abel  remained  three 
weeks  in  Union  county,  and,  in  retracing  their 
steps  to  St.  Rumoldus,  visited  several  minor  sta- 
tions on  the  way.  At  St.  Teresas  (Flint  Island, 
Meade  county?),  where  Rev.  Abel  preached, 
they  were  presented  with  three  hundred  acres 
of  land  for  a  church,  etc.  They  also  accepted 
the  invitation  of  a  protestant,  living  eight  miles 
away  from  there,  and  preached  before  an  exclu- 
sively protestant  audience,  with  the  same  success 
as  heretofore  :  '  Call  again.'  A  thirty-two  mile 
journey  brought  them  to  St.  Anthoni/s,  Long- 
Lick,  Breckinridge  county,  where  a  church  was 
beino-  built  at  the  time.  In  St.  James  mission^ 
llev.  Abel  again  preached  for  the  protestants  in 
the  court-house  of  Litchfield,  Grayson  county. 
Having  ascertained  that  the  oldest  minister  of 
the  place  was  among  his  hearers,  with  the  inten- 
tion, as  was  whispered  around,  of  indulging  in  a 
little  bit  of  controversy,  Father  Abel  invited 
him  up  to  a  seat  on  the  rostrum.  The  subject 
was  the  Sacrament  of  Penance,  and  our  young 
, orator  handled  his  subject  so  eloquently  that  the 
poor  parson  did  not  open  his  mouth,  and  mani- 


1819.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  385- 

festecl  ever  afterward  the  most  peaceful  inten- 
tions." 

Satisfied  that  his  congregations  would  only- 
gain  by  the  change,  Father  Nerinckx  intrusted 
to  the  energetic  Father  Abel  all  his  missions 
situated  in  the  New  Tract,  and  hurried  back 
with  a  lighter  heart  to  his  dear  Loretto,  where 
new  work  awaited  him. 

"  Bishop  Flaget,"  he  writes  in  1819,  "  moved 
by  the  success  of,  and  the  great  good  brought 
about  by,  the  institution  of  the  Friends  of  Mary^ 
desires  me  to  establish  a  similar  society  for  the 
young  men  and  boys.  The  object  is  to  have  a 
religious  community  of  men,  whose  aim  w^ould 
be  the  education  of  the  boys,  especially  those  of 
the  middle  classes  and  orphans,  whose  poverty 
so  often  prevents  the  Church  and  State  from  be- 
ing benefited  by  their  talents."  Father  'Ner- 
inckx  went  to  work  without  delay  ;  he  made  an 
appeal  to  the  catholics  of  all  the  surrounding- 
counties,  requesting  a  generous  contribution  for 
an  establishment  which  would  prove  so  beneficial 
to  their  families  ;  and  the  sisters,  having  called 
at  the  houses,  collected  about  three  thousand  dol- 
lars. With  this  money  was  purchased,  from  Mr. 
Joseph  Ray,  a  farm  of  three  hundred  and  eleven 
acres,  with  dwelling-house  and  some  out-houses, 
which  Father  Nerinckx  christened  Mount  Mary^s, 
as  he  intended  to  build  on  the  hill  a  house  dedi- 
cated to  the  Blessed  Virgin.  The  place,  as  in- 
timated, was  intended  for  the  Brotherhood  of  the 


386  ^IFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1817- 

Loretto  Society,  and,  awaiting  the  happy  fulfill- 
ment of  their  founder's  cherished  plan,  the  sisters 
•cultivated,  for  over  a  year,  the  newly  purchased 
farm,  one  hundred  acres  of  which  were  cleared. 
"  The  main  building  and  four  of  the  smaller  ones 
were  destroyed  by  fire,  in  the  beginning  of  1819 ; 
and,  besides  that  great  loss,  the  almost  total 
destruction  of  a  grist-mill  on  the  place  by  a  vio- 
lent storm,  has  injured  our  prospects  consider- 
.ably."  Writes  Father  Nerinckx  in  1819  :  "Were 
it  not  for  that  last  accident,  the  work  would 
likely  be  commenced  at  this  very  time,  for  several 
of  our  young  men  desire  very  earnestly  to  enter 
the  new  institution."  * 

The  blighted  prospects  of  the  new  enterprise 
induced  Father  Nerinckx  to  consider  seriously 
the  possibility  of  a  second  trip  to  Europe,  in  or- 
der to  amass  funds  for  the  prosecution  of  his 
plan.  He  spoke  to  Bishop  Flaget,  who  ap- 
proved of  it  without  hesitation,  and  the  zealous 
priest  at  once  made  preparations  for  his  journey, 
although  not  without  grave  apprehensions  about 
its  results.  That  his  apprehensions  were  well 
founded,  fully  appears  from  a  subsequent  letter 
to  the  Archbishop  of  Baltimore,  written  from 
Belgium,  July  17,  1820.     He  says : 

"  I   meet  here  with  what  I  told  your  Grace 

*  Letter  of  1819,  to  his  parents.  This  place  seems  to  have  been 
liaunted  by  what  we  commonly  call  ill-luck.  The  college,  built 
on  the  same  spot  by  Rev.  Wm.  Byrne,  was  again  burned  in  1822, 
and  a  third  time  some  months  later.  In  the  light  of  subsequent 
facts,  it  almost  looks  like  a  retribution.  It  was  again  destroyed 
hy  fire  in  1860. 


1819.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERIXCKX.  387 

and  our  Right  Rev.  Bishop  I  had  to  expect  in 
the  present  metamorphosis — a  persecution,  and 
a  warm  one  at  that !  You  will  no  more  wonder 
at  it  than  I  do.  My  projects  nearly  disappear 
in  regione  principum  tenebrarum  harum.  I  am 
frequently  advised  to  make  good  my  escape,  al- 
though I  have  a  sound  American  passport ;  and 
I  think  I  will  do  so,  for  my  friends  and  well- 
wishers  suffer  more  uneasiness  about  my  fate 
than  I  do  myself.  One  would  say :  But  what  is 
the  matter  ?  I  am  only  a  missionary  ;  I  beg 
for  the  good  of  religion  in  a  foreign  country ! 
.  .  .  But  less  than  this  is  enough  to  kindle  a 
whole  army  of  liberals  with-  wrath.  You  need 
not  wonder  should  I,  if  health  permits,  have  the 
honor  to  see  your  Lordship  before  Winter.  Mr. 
Chabrat  can  not  come  yet.  ...  I  think  you 
will  get  an  altar-piece  of  real  worth  for  your 
Metropolitan  church.  ...  I  hope  I  will  be 
.able  to  procure  a  picture  for  the  altar  at  Mr. 
Thompson's,  in  the  Alleghany  Mountains.  .  .  ." 
But  before  accompanying  Father  Nerinckx  on 
his  second  journey,  we  must  give  a  short  ac- 
count of  Mount  Mary's  subsequent  history. 
During  his  absence.  Bishop  Flaget  took  upon 
himself  to  attend  to  the  spiritual  wants  of  the 
sisters  of  Loretto,  and  of  some  of  his  congrega- 
tions. Having  ordained  Father  Deparcq,  a 
countryman  of  Father  Nerinckx',  Christmas, 
1820,  he  shortly  after  appointed  him  to  attend 
to  the  sisters  of  Calvary,  and  to  take  charge  of 
St.  Augustine's  church,  Lebanon,  the  construe- 


388  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1817- 

tion  of  which  that  reverend  gentleman  com- 
pleted in  1821.  The  Bishop  further  relieved 
himself  of  the  too  onerous  missionary  duties, 
which  interfered  very  much  with  his  episcopal 
occupations,  by  appointing  the  Rev.  Wm.  Byrne 
to  attend  to  St.  Charles'  and  Holy  Mary's  con- 
gregations. 

The  latter  young  clergyman  had  passed  his 
life  in  collegiate  employment,  and  the  necessity 
of  doing  something  for  the  instruction  of  the 
male  youth  so  forcibly  appealed  to  his  energetic 
sympathies,  that  he  resolved  to  begin  a  college 
immediately.  Unwilling  to  await  the  return  of 
its  owner,  he  took  possession  of  Mount  Mary's 
farm,  and  with  the  consent  of  the  Bishop  of 
Bardstown,  made  all  the  necessary  arrange- 
ments, so  that,  by  the  time  that  Father  Ner- 
inckx  returned  from  Europe  in  1821,  the  school 
was  in  a  flourishing  condition,  and  its  president 
unwilling  to  give  up  to  the  missionary  the  farm 
which  he  had  bought  for  the  foundation  of  his 
new  brotherhood.*  Father  Nerinckx  was  ac- 
companied by  three  Flemish  youths,  with  whom 
he  had  designed  to  begin  the  new  institution. 
Several  young  Kentuckians  also  applied  to  him 
for  admission  into  the  society,  and  the  self-sacri- 
ficing priest  did  all  in  his  power  to  recover 
Mount  Mary's  and  establish  his  brotherhood. 
But  he  met  with  no  encouragement,  and  a  great 

*The  facts  as  here  related,  although  differing  from  tho  version 
given  in  the  "Sketches  of  Kentucky,"  rest  on  most  reliable- 
documents. 


1819.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  389 

deal  of  opposition,  so  that  the  original  project 
was  never  carried  into  effect. 

One  of  the  Belgian  youths  died  of  dropsy  at 
Calvary  convent,  shortly  after  his  arrival.  The 
two  others,  MM.  Van  Rysselberghe  and  Gilbert, 
remained  at  Loretto  until  1824,  when  the  for- 
mer accompanied  Father  Nerinckx  to  Missouri ; 
after  the  missionary's  death,  Mr.  Van  Ryssel- 
berghe returned  to  Kentucky,  and  having  mar- 
ried, settled  in  the  environs  of  Bardstown.  Mr. 
Gilbert,  or  Brother  Gilbert,  as  he  was  more  com- 
monly called,  remained  until  his  death  at  the 
different  establishments  of  the  Loretto  Society, 
attending  to  the  farm  work.  He  died  at  Cedar 
Grove,  Mt.  St.  Benedict  Academy,  Louisville, 
Ky.,  in  1867. 

After  the  death  of  Father  Nerinckx,  Bishop 
Flaget,  at  the  instance  of  Father  Chabrat, 
moved  the  Loretto  convent  to  St.  Stephen's,  the 
farm  lately  held  by  Rev.  Badin,  which  he  gave 
to  the  sisters  in  exchange  for  Mount  Mary's. 
From  that  time  forward,  St.  Mary's  Seminary, 
as  it  was  now  called,  had  a  smooth  course  of  unin- 
terrupted prosperity. 

Rev.  Wm.  Byrne  conducted  the  college  with 
much  success  till  1832,  when,  desiring  to  elevate 
the  standard  of  studies,  he  proposed  to  Bishop 
Fla2:et  to  invite  the  Jesuit  Fathers  to  take  St. 
Mary's  College,  instead  of  St.  Joseph's  College, 
Bardstown,  which  had  been  offered  to  them  as 
early  as  1829.  This  suggestion  met  with  the 
approval   of  all    parties,    and   the   college  was 


390  LIFE  OF  KEV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1817- 

transf erred  to  Rev.  Peter  Chazelle,  S.  J.,  and 
companions  in  1832,  though  Father  Byrne,  by 
request,  continued  to  fill  the  office  of  president 
till  his  death,  by  cholera,  on  June  5,  1833, 
Father  Chazelle  succeeded  him  as  president. 
He  and  his  brother  Jesuits  that  were  with  him, 
having  but  a  limited  knowledge  of  the  English 
language,  he  applied  to  his  Provincial  in  France 
for  suitable  professors  in  English  literature. 
Father  William  Murphy  and  others  of  the 
Lyons  province  were  selected,  and  arrived  in 
Kentucky  about  the  beginning  of  February, 
1836. 

Father  Chazelle  resigned  the  presidency  of 
St.  Mary's  in  1839,  and  Father  Murphy,  who, 
assisted  by  Rev.  Robert  Abel,  had,  in  1837,  ob- 
tained a  charter  for  the  college,  was  appointed 
his  successor.  He  remained  president  till  the 
Summer  of  1846,  when  the  Jesuits  abandoned 
Kentucky,  and  accepted  from  Bishop  Hughes,  St. 
John's  College,  Fordham,  New  York,  in  August 
of  the  same  year. 

In  1847,  St.  Mary's  College  was  again  in- 
trusted to  the  secular  clergy.  The  following 
were  its  successive  presidents : 

1848.  Rev.  Julian  Delanne,  President. 

1849.  Rev.  John  McGuire,  President. 
Rev.  Francis  Lawler,  Vice-President. 

1851.  Rev.  John  B.  Hutchins,  President. 

Rev.  Francis  Lawler,  Vice-President. 
1853.  Rev.  Francis  Lawler,  President. 

Rev.  Michael  Coghlan,  Vice-President. 


1819.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  391 

In  1856,  Rev.  Francis  Lawler  was  President, 
and  Rev.  Edmund  Driscoll,  Vice-President,  till 
spring,  when  Rev.  John  B.  Hutchins  became 
President  for  the  remainder  of  the  scholastic 
year,  and  again  put  the  college  on  a  sound  finan- 
cial footing. 

In  September,  1856,  Rev.  P.  J.  Lavialle,  after- 
ward Bishop  of  Louisville,  was  appointed  Presi- 
dent of  St.  Mary's  College,  with  Rev.  Jos.  H. 
Elder  as  Vice-President.  The  latter  remained 
only  a  few  months,  and  was  succeeded  in  the 
Vice-Presidency  by  Rev.  A.  Viala. 

1865.  Rev.  A.  Viala,  President. 

Rev.  T.  J.  Disney,  Vice-President. 

Closed  in  1869.  The  college  entered  upon  a 
new  era  of  usefulness,  when  the  Resurrectionist 
Fathers  assumed  its  control,  in  September, 
1871,  with  Rev.  L.  Elena,  C.  R.,  President,  and 
Rev.  D.  Fennessy,  C.  R.,  Vice-President. 

1873.  Rev.  D.  Fennessy,  C.  R.,  President. 

Rev.  R.  De  Carolis,  C.  R.,  Vice-Presi- 
dent. 

1879.  Rev.  D.  Fennessy,  C.  R.,  President. 
Rev.  A.  Vaghi,  C.  R.,  Vice-President. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

1819-1820. 

OONSECRATION  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  OF  BaRDSTOWX. — ThE  THEOLOGI- 
CAL Seminary. — Consecration  of  Bishop  David. — New  Dioceses. 
— Catholic  statistics  of  the  United  States  and  Kentucky. — 
Statistics  of  the  Loretto  society. — Father  Nerinckx'  last 
will. 

A  Flemish  journal  of  his  last  trip  to  Europe, 
in  which  he  also  noted  the  events  that  happened 
before  and  during  his  journey,  was  written  by 
Father  Nerinckx  in  London,  and  presented  to 
his  tried  and  good  friend,  J.  Gr.  Lesage  Ten 
Broeck,  of  Loosduinen,  the  very  day  of  his  de- 
parture for  America.  That  gentleman  published 
the  manuscript  in  Flanders  for  the  benefit 
of  the  American  missions,  July  14,  1825, 
most  likely  at  the  request  of  Rev,  John  ISTer- 
inckx,  of  London,  to  whom  Bishop  Flaget  wrote 
a  few  weeks  after  his  brother's  death :  "  For 
God's  sake  sj^ur  on  the  friends  of  your  reverend 
brother,  not  to  forget  his  excellent  foundations, 
and  the  poor  Bishop  of  Kentucky,"  From  that 
journal,  we  gather  into  the  present  chapter  the 
events  relating  to  the  years  1819  and  1820,  thus 
remaining  faithful  to  the  chronological  order. 

(392) 


.1819-20.]     LIFE  OF  KEV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  393 

"The  second  Sunday  of  August,  1819,  St. 
Joseph's  cathedral  church  of  Bardstown  was 
consecrated  with  great  pomp  and  edification  by 
Right  Rev.  Benedict  Joseph  Flaget,  the  first 
Bishop  of  this  diocese,  assisted  by  his  clergy 
and  seminarians,  in  the  presence  of  perhaps  four 
thousand  people  of  all  classes,  professions,  and 
beliefs.*  This  church,  planned  in  1817,  is  far 
from  finished,  although  services  are  performed 
in  it.  Altars,  confessionals,  organ,  bells,  etc., 
are  yet  wanting.  It  has  cost,  so  far,  about 
$20,000,  is  well  built,  and  large  enough  to  ac- 
commodate about  four  thousand  people.  I  sent 
you  the  plan  of  it,  together  with  a  view  of  the 
Seminary,  where  there  are  at  present  sixteen 
theologians.  It  is  here  that  the  priests  of 
Bardstown  live  in  community  with  the  Bishop, 
whose  apartments  consist  of  a  single  room,  with 
a  bed  in  an  alcove.  Bishop  David,  the  Coadju- 
tor, is  similarly  lodged. 

"  The  Seminary  was  built  under  the  following 
circumstances :  A  Trappist  lay-brother,  a  clock- 
maker  by  trade,  who  had  remained  in  America 

*This  was  a  great  event  for  the  Bishop  and  clergy  of  Ken- 
tucky, especially  so  for  the  two  old  pioneers,  Fathers  Badin  and 
jSTerinckx,  who  had  seen — aye,  cradled— the  infant  catholic 
church  in  Kentucky.  It  was  on  this  occasion  that  Father  Ner- 
inckx  offered  to  the  happy  Bishop  Flaget  a  poetic  tribute,  which 
speaks  more  for  his  knowledge  of  English  than  his  own  modest 
opinion  of  his  "  barbaric  way  of  writing  and  speaking  it,"  would 
make  us  suppose.  The  original  of  these  lines  is  in  Father  Ner- 
inckx'  own  handwriting,  and  now  in  the  possession  of  the  Superior 
of  Mount  Benedict,  Cedar  Grove,  Louisville,  Kentucky.  We 
print  it  in  the  appendix. 


394  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHAELES  NERINCKX.         [1819- 

after  the  Trappist  Fathers  left  for  Europe,  set- 
tled in  Bardstown,  where  he  followed  his  trade 
to  the  satisfaction  of  all  the  citizens,  who  re- 
spected him  much  for  his  honest,  straightfor- 
ward piety  and  his  great  skill  as  a  mechanic. 
He  had  expressed  his  wish,  but  by  word  of 
mouth  only,  that  in  case  of  his  death,  his  prop- 
erty and  other  worldly  possessions  should  go  to 
the  Bishop.  Returning,  one  holiday,  from 
church  through  a  heavy  rain  storm,  he  had  to 
wade  through  a  river  about  a  mile  from  Bards- 
town, and,  although  the  water  was  very  high 
and  the  current  violent,  he,  and  one  of  his  work- 
boys  mounted  on  the  same  horse  behind  him, 
imprudently  resolved  to  cross.  They  had 
scarcely  gone  a  few  rods,  when  the  horse  was 
swept  from  under  them,  and  both  riders  disap- 
peared beneath  the  seething  waters.  Few  per- 
sons were  within  hailing  distance,  nor  was  there, 
to  the  great  and  sincere  sorrow  of  all  who  knew 
him,  the  slightest  chance  to  save  them.  His 
will  by  word  of  mouth  was  sworn  to  before  the 
civil  authorities,  and  the  Bishop  having  repre- 
sented that  he  intended  to  use  the  estate  for  the 
building  of  a  Seminary,  the  court  declared  the 
bequest  lawful  and  allowed  the  Bishop  to  enter 
into  the  possession  of  the  $2,200  left  him. 
Monseigneur  Flaget  immediately  bought  five 
acres  of  ground  next  to  the  cathedral,  for  $800, 
put  up  a  building  of  two  stories  and  basement,  and 
they  are  now  laying  out  the  grounds,  gardens,  etc., 
most  of  this  work  being  done  by  the  theologians. 


1820.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  395 

About  the  time  we  were  leaving  (1820),  he  was 
making  arrangements  for  an  academic  school  in 
the  same  building,  which  is  to  remain  there  un- 
til he  can  dispose  of  sufficient  means  to  con- 
struct a  special  building  for  that  purpose.  The 
most  influential  protestants  of  the  town  send 
their  children  to  it;  although  they  have  a  public 
school  under  the  supervision  of  their  own  co- 
religionists ;  they  allege  that  they  prefer  to  in- 
trust their  children  to  the  care  of  two  catholic 
Bishops. 

"  The  petit  Seminaire  of  St.  Thomas,  with  a 
similar  school  attached  to  it,  is  prospering  finely 
on  the  farm  situated  about  three  miles  from 
Bardstown.  They  have  now  nineteen  students 
who  prepare  themselves  for  the  ecclesiastical 
state." 

A  further  handsome  donation  was  made  to 
Bishop  Flaget  by  an  English  lady,  as  appears 
from  the  following  extract  of  the  Catholic  Miscel- 
lany of  January  12,  1824:  "  We  notice  with  con- 
siderable satisfaction  a  charitable  and  relioious 
bequest  of  a  handsome  amount  made  to  the  ven- 
erable Bishop  of  Bardstown  for  the  use  of  his 
diocese,  by  the  late  Mrs.  Mary  Mercer,  of  Baker- 
ville,  Derbyshire,  England.  This  pious  lady 
embraced  the  catholic  religion  at  the  age  of  six- 
teen ;  each  succeeding  year  evinced  the  sincerity 
of  her  belief  and  manifested  the  extent  of  her 
charity.  She  has  left  considerable  donations  to 
several  catholic  institutions." 

"The  Sisters  of  Charity,  founded  by  Rev.   J, 


S96  MFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1819- 

David,  in  Nazareth,  have  bought  a  piece  of  land 
in  Bardstown,  and  established  a  school  there 
which  prospers.  They  also  sent  a  colony  to 
Breckinridge,  seventy  miles  from  Bardstown, 
one  of  my  old  missions  attended  to  at  present 
by  Rev.  Father  Abel.  Their  founder,  at  that 
time  president  and  professor  of  St.  Thomas' 
Seminary,  was  consecrated  Bishop  Coadjutor  of 
Bardstown,  on  August  19,  1819.  I  assisted  at 
that  imposing  ceremony  as  the  oldest  priest  of 
the  diocese,  Rev.  Badin,  who  is  the  oldest  resi- 
dent priest,  although  younger  in  years,  being 
in  Europe,  where  he  will  perhaps  spend  the 
rest  of  his  life. 

"  I  might  also  have  told  you  how  they  man- 
aged to  build  the  steeple  of  the  Bardstown 
Cathedral.  The  funds  were  exhausted,  but  the 
architect,  who  gave  proof  of  the  most  ardent  zeal 
for  the  completion  of  his  work,  bethought  him- 
self of  a  new  plan  to  raise  the  necessary  funds. 
The  clock  which  I  brought  from  Ninove,  in 
Flanders,  and  which  is  a  truly  wonderful  time- 
piece, suggested  to  him  the  means  of  exciting  the 
people  to  renewed  exertions.  He  placed  it  in 
the  front  wall  of  the  church,  the  two  little  silver- 
toned  bells  striking  the  hours.  The  peoj^le  ac- 
knowledged that  so  beautiful  a  clock  should 
adorn  a  steeple,  and  they  consented  to  a  sub- 
scription, which  realized  enough  to  complete  the 
work. 

"  Bardstown  used  to  be  the  pleasure  garden 
of  Presbyterians  and  Anabaptists ;  hence  it  is  a 


1820.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  397 

great  mortification  for  these  sects  to  see  that  Old 
Church  which  they  so  cordially  hated  and  perse- 
cuted for  the  last  three  hundred  years,  looming 
up  triumphantly  in  their  midst.  Animated  by 
an  unlooked-for  zeal  or  spite,  they  made  an  at- 
tempt to  build  a  meeting-house  which  would  far 
surpass  the  catholic  cathedral.  x\l  though 
headed  and  advocated  by  one  of  the  most  influ- 
ential lawyers  and  best  orators  of  the  city — an 
ex-congressman  of  no  small  ability — their  sub- 
scription reached  only  $3,000.  The  gentleman 
referred  to  laid  the  matter  before  the  architect 
who  had  built  the  cathedral,  but  he  peremptorily 
refused  to  have  any  thing  to  do  with  the  church, 
"  The  Bishop  of  Bardstown  intends  to  under- 
take another  journey  to  Post  Vincennes  ;  his 
main  object  is  to  examine  the  country,  prepara- 
tory to  the  establishment  of  several  new  dio- 
ceses which  are  going  to  be  erected  in  the  West. 
They  name  Vincennes,  Cincinnati,  and  Detroit ; 
also,  Natchez  in  the  South  and  Charleston  in  the 
East ;  St.  Louis  will  be  raised  to  the  dignity  of 
an  archbishoi^ric,  and  IVew  Orleans  obtain  a  co- 
adjutor. Three  or  four  new  dioceses  will  be- 
formed  out  of  the  present  diocese  of  Bardstown, 
and  there  will  be  ground  enough  left  for  three 
additional  ones  before  another  twenty  years. 
The  bearer  of  this  new  circumscription  of  dio- 
ceses will  be  an  Italian  of  high  birth  and  ex- 
tensive domains,  who,  having  become  disgusted 
with  the  world,  has  sacrificed  all  earthly  pros- 
pects to  embrace  the  ecclesiastical  state  and  de- 


-398  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1819- 

vote  himself  entirely  to  the  missions.  He  is  al- 
ready ordained,  and  will  soon  leave  for  Rome, 
in  order  to  dispose  of  his  worldly  goods,  where 
he  will,  at  the  same  time,  attend  to  the  imjior- 
tant  affairs  of  the  American  Bishops. 

"  The  future  diocese  of  Cincinnati  has  at  pres- 
ent only  two  priests,  Dominican  Fathers  of  the 
Bornhem  house,  near  Antwerp.  The  diocese  of 
Vincennes  will  also  have  two,  and  the  diocese  of 
Detroit  only  one,  if  I  except  a  Trappist  who  is 
likely  already  gone  ;  Natchez  has  two  priests ; 
so  that  the  new  Bishops  will  have  plenty  of 
work  and  difficulties  when  they  arrive.  There 
will  then  be  eleven  dioceses  in  the  United 
States  of  North  America,  all,  except  Baltimore, 
erected  by  Pius  VII.  The  other  dioceses  are, 
perhaps,  as  much  in  need  of  a  division  as 
Bardstown,  for  our  holy  faith  is  not  at  a  stand- 
still in  America,  as  some  pretend  to  make  you 
believe. 

"  Right  here,  I  may  just  as  well  give  you  a 
short  and  concise  history  of  the  present  state  of 
the  church. 

"When  I  arrived  in  America,  in  1804,  there 
were  only  two  dioceses — Baltimore  and  New 
Orleans.  Baltimore  had,  at  that  time,  its  first 
Bishop — the  American  John  Carroll,  of  the  Or- 
der of  Jesuits,  who,  respected  by  all,  closed  his 
earthl}''  career,  full  of  merits  and  worth,  as  first 
Archbishop  of  the  United  States,  at  the  age  of 
eighty-two.  His  death  occasioned  universal 
^nd  unfeigned  regret;   all  the   newspapers   ap- 


1820.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  399 

peared  in  mourning,  an  honor  which  had  been 
paid  only  to  the  great  Washington,  and  his 
burial  did  not  cede  in  grandeur  to  that  of  the 
hero  who  had  effected  America's  independence. 
The  See  of  'New  Orleans  was  vacant  and  admin- 
istered by  a  Vicar  Apostolic.  The  present  head 
of  the  church,  Pius  VII.,  aware  of  the  state  of 
the  church  in  these  regions,  and  seeing  persecu- 
tion, much  in  vogue  before  the  Revolutionary 
War,  subside,  erected,  in  1810,  the  new  dioceses 
of  Philadelphia,  Boston,  New  York,  and  Bards- 
town,  Kentucky.  His  Lordship,  Monseigneur 
Cheverus,  a  Frenchman  and  one  of  the  nomi- 
nated prelates,  making  a  public  allocution  on  the 
occasion  of  this  consecration,  spoke  with  such 
unction  and  touching  grace  in  his  broken  En- 
glish, that  the  Archbishop  himself,  moved  to 
tears,  exclaimed :  '  How  is  this  ?  This  good 
Frenchman,  whom  we  scarcely  understand, 
makes  every  one  of  us  weep  !' 

"  We  have  now  in  the  United  States  seven 
DIOCESES :  1.  New  Orleans,  the  oldest  of  all ;  2. 
Baltimore,  Archdiocese;  3.  New  York;  4. 
Philadelphia ;  5.  Boston ;  6.  Bardstown ;  7.  St. 
Louis ;  and  the  following  cathedral  churches : 
Baltimore,  New  Orleans,  New  York,  Bardstown, 
St.  Louis.  The  Cathedral  church  of  Detroit  is 
being  built.*  The  other  Bishops  use  the  old 
churches. 

"  Theological  Seminaries. — Baltimore  and 

*  Father  G.  Richard  began  the  erection  of  St.  Ann's  church  in 
1816. 


400  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1819- 

Bardstown  under  the  direction  of  the  Sulpitians ;. 
and  St.  Louis  directed  by  the  Lazarists. 

"  Schools  for  boys  and  young  men. — 1.  The 
Jesuits  are  at  Georgetown  College ;  it  has  been 
erected  into  a  university. 

"  2.  The  Sulpitians :  In  Baltimore  and  Em- 
mettsburg,  Maryland ;  and  Bardstown,  Ken- 
tucky. 

"3.  The  Lazarists  in  St.  Louis. 

"4.  The  Dominicans  in  Kentucky. 

"  5.  The  Brothers  of  the  Christian  Doctrine,  at 
Ste.  Genevieve,  Illinois. 

"Academies  for  girls. — 1.  The  Ladies  of 
the  Sacred  Heart,  St.  Ferdinand,  Illinois.* 

"  2.  The  Ursulines  at  New  Orleans. 

"3.  The  Sisters  of  the  Visitation,  George- 
town, Md. 

"4.  The  Sisters  of  Charity,  in  Emmettsburg, 
New  York,  Philadelphia,  Conewago,  Bardstown, 
Nazareth,  and  Rough  Creek,  Breckinridge 
county,  Ky.f 

''  5.  The  Friends  of  Mary,  in  Loretto,  Calvary, 
and  Gethsemani,  Ky. 

"The  number  of  catholics  in  the  States  can 
only  be  guessed  at,  but  I  think  I  am  not  much 
out  of  the  way,  in  setting  it  down  as  three  hun- 
dred thousand. 

"As  already  said,  Bardstown  will  be  divided 

*  Now  Missouri.     This  village,  now  culled  Florissant,  is  in  St. 
Louis  county,  Mo. 

f  The  lour  first-named  academies  belonged  to  Mother  Seton's. 
foundation ;  the  three  latter  to  Bishop  David's. 


1820.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  401 

into  three  or  four  new  dioceses :  Detroit,  in 
Michigan  Territory,  near  Lake  Erie  ;  Vincennes^ 
in  the  State  of  Indiana ;  and  Cincinnati,  in 
Ohio.  The  diocese  of  Bardstown,  now  ten 
years  old,  has  twenty-seven  or  more  churches  in 
which  services  are  held,  not  counting  the  church 
of  St.  Hubert,  which  will,  however,  soon  bo  fin- 
ished. This  St.  Iliiberfs*  church  is  being- 
built  in  an  incipient  town  called  Lebanon,  about 
six  miles  from  Loretto.  The  Presbyterians  were 
the  only  denomination  in  the  place,  and  they 
undertook  to  build  a  large  church  when  the 
catholics  began  theirs ;  but,  meeting  with  little 
or  no  encouragement,  they  had  to  abandon  the 
undertaking,  whilst  the  catholics  went  ahead,, 
the  protestants  contributing  more  than  a  third 
of  the  sum  needed.  To  those  who  found  fault 
with  their  generosity  toward  the  Papists,  they 
answered  that  they  knew  beforehand  that  the 
Presbyterians  could  not  succeed,  whilst  the  Ro- 
mans succeed  in  all  their  undertakings :  "  they 
do  not  make  much  noise,'  they  said,  'but  they 
do  business  bravely  indeed !'  To  this  church  I 
gave  ornaments,  a  chalice,  a  clock  for  the  stee- 
ple, and  a  painting  and  relics  of  St.  Hubert. 

"  The    following   churches   in   Kentucky   are 
built  of  brick  :   The  cathedral  of  Bardstown  ;  the 

*The  same  finished,  by  Rev.  Deparcq,  under  the  name  of  St. 
Avgustine.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  original  name  given  it 
by  its  founder  was  not  retained,  especially  so  because  he  left  it 
relics  of  its  should-be  patron  Saint. 


402  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1819- 

'church  of  the  petit  Seminary  of  St.  Thomas ; 
;St.  Peter's,  Lexington,  a  city  of  eight  thousand 
inhabitants  ;  St.  Louis',  Louisville,  which  will  be- 
come one  of  the  largest  cities  of  the  Union,  ow- 
ing to  its  situation  on  the  beautiful  Ohio  river ; 
St.  Patrick's,  Danville;  St.  Rose's,  the  church 
of  the  Dominicans ;  and  St.  Hubert's,  Lebanon. 
This  last  one  is  the  only  brick  church  in  my 
missions ;  the  others  are  all  frame  buildings. 
Some  of  my  congregations  had  already  deter- 
mined to  build  new  brick  churches,  and  would 
have  succeeded,  were  it  not  that  they  were  in 
too  great  a  hurry  to  get  rich,  and  entered  into  a 
poor  speculation.  Covetousness  and  wisdom  sel- 
dom follow  the  same  advice.  They  took  upon 
themselves  to  start  several  public  independent 
banks ;  the  government  acquiesced,  and  almost 
every  little  settlement  had  a  similar  bank.  But 
they  most  all  went  beyond  the  limitations  of 
their  charter,  were  unable  to  meet  the  demand 
for  money  and  to  redeem  their  circulating  paper 
in  coin,  and  were  forced  in  consequence  to  enter 
into  bankruptcy.  This  speculation  began  three 
years  ago  (1817),  augmented  the  price  of  goods 
twenty  per  cent.,  ruined  most  of  the  common 
people,  and,  of  course,  knocked  man}^  another 
undertaking  into  the  head.  We  now  suifer 
the  consequences  of  their  folly. 

"The  clergy  of  the  diocese  of  Bardstown  is 
■composed  of  the  following  gentlemen  : 

"  1.  Right  Rev.  Benedict  Joseph  Flaget. 


1820.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  403 

"  2.  Right  Rev.  John  David,  Bishop  of  Mauri- 
Castrensis,  Coadjutor  of  Bardstown. 

"  3.  Rev.  Olivier,  a  venerable  old  man  of 
about  eighty  years  ;  still  zealously  at  work  at 
Kaskaskias,  in  the  Illinois  Territory. 

"  4.  Rev.  Gabriel  Richard,  a  Sulpitian  mis- 
sionary ;  stationed  in  Detroit. 

"5.  Rev.  Stephen  Theodore  Badin,  the  only 
priest  whom  I  found  in  Kentucky ;  stationed  at 
St.  Stephen.  He  had  no  neighboring  priest 
within  four  hundred  miles  of  him — a  fact  which 
moved  me  to  join  him. 

"  6.  Rev.  Charles  Nerinckx,  at  Loretto,  eigh- 
teen miles  from  Bardstown. 

"  7.  Rev.  Guy  Chabrat,*  the  first  priest  or- 
dained by  our  Bishop  ;  stationed  at  St.  Michael's 
Mission,  JN'elson  county. 

"8.  Rev.  Derigault,  Director  of  the  little 
Seminary  of  St.  Thomas. 

"  9.  Rev.  Ganiltz,f  residing  at  St.  Stephen's. 

"All  these,  except  myself,  are  Frenchmen. 

"  10.  Rev.  R.  Abel,  an  American ;  missionary 
priest  at  St.  Rumoldus,J  Hardinsburg. 

"  11.  Rev.  C.  Cooms,  an  American  ;  Treasurer 
of  the  St.  Thomas  little  Seminary. 

*  Afterward  Coadjutor  Bishop  of  Bardstown. 

f  He  afterward  went  to  Michigan. 

X  The  name  is  now  given  as  St.  Romuald.  Father  Nerinckx 
had  put  that  church  under  the  protection  of  the  Belgian  patron 
Saint  of  the  Metropolitan  church  of  Mechlin,  St.  Bumoldus 
(French:  Rombaut);  likely  because  he  had  been  vicar  of  that 
church.  The  similarity  of  names  probably  occasioned  the 
change  by  a  mistake. 


404  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1819- 

"  12.  Rev.  M.  G.  Elder,  an  American  ;  Presi- 
dent of  the  Collegiate  department  at  the  great 
Seminary  of  St.  Joseph. 

"  13.  Rev.  Wm.  Byrne,  an  Irishman  ;  at  Holy 
Mary's,  Washington  county. 

"  14.  Rev.  Blanc,*  a  French  secular  mission- 
ary priest ;  stationed  at  Vincennes,  with 

"  15.  Rev.  Ferraris,  an  Italian  Lazarist. 

"  To  the  Dominican  Convent  of  St.  Rose,  fif- 
teen miles  from  Bardstown,  belong: 

"  1.  Rev.  Wilson,  Provincial  of  the  new  prov- 
ince. 

"  2.  Rev.  Angier,  at  present  on  the  mission  in 
Maryland. 

"3.  Rev.  Tuite,  at  St.  Rose's. 

"All  Englishmen. 

"  The  others  are  all  Americans,  viz : 

"4  and  5.  The  two  Fathers  Montgomery. 

"  6.  Rev.  Willett. 

"  7.  Rev.  Miles.f 

"  The  two  following: 

"  8.  Rev.  Edward  Fenwick,J  and 

"  9.  Rev.  Young  started  a  new  mission  in  the 
State  of  Ohio,  which  will  flourish  and  grow 
rapidly  as  soon  as  a  Bishop  is  appointed  for  it. 
Many  Methodists  become  converts  there. 

"  I  do  not  mention  the  students  who  are  not 
yet  ordained  priests,  nor  the  priests  belongings 
to  the  diocese  of  St.  Louis,  lately  established. 

*  Afterward  Archbishop  of  New  Orleans, 
f  Afterward  first  Bishop  of  Nashville. 
:j;  Later  first  Bishop  of  Cincinnati. 


1820.]         LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  405 

"  The  area  and  extent  of  the  present  diocese 
of  Bardstown  is  as  follows  : 

"  Kentucky,  from  east  to  west,  three  hundred 
and  twenty-eight  miles  ;  from  north  to  south,  one 
hundred  and  eighty-three  miles.  Ohio,  from 
east  to  west,  two  hundred  and  twenty-eight 
miles ;  from  north-  to  south,  two  hundred  and 
twenty-seven  miles.  Tennessee,  from  east  to 
west,  four  hundred  and  twenty  miles ;  from 
north  to  south,  one  hundred  and  four  miles. 
Michigan,  from  east  to  west,  two  hundred  and 
fifty^ix  miles  ;  from  north  to  south,  one  hundred 
and  fifty-four  miles.* 

"  Exclusively  of  Indiana  and  part  of  Illinois, 
an  area  of  one  thousand  nine  hundred  miles,  is 
to  be  crossed  in  all  directions  by  the  Bishop  and 
his  twenty-one  priests  just  named. 

"  When  I  came  to  Kentucky,  the  population 
was  estimated  at  two  hundred  thousand  inhab- 
itants ;  it  is  said  to  be  half  a  million  to-day. 
The  other  States  are  growing  in  the  same  pro- 
portion ;  hence  you  can  imagine  the  amount  of 
work  which  awaits  the  zealous  missionary.  It 
would  be  beyond  the  bounds  of  a  letter  to  make 
further  remarks.  We  may,  however,  imagine 
how  many  souls  must  be  lost  by  sheer  want  of 
priests,  and  how  happy  are  those  who  do  not 
suifer  such  a  want. 

"  The  diocese  of  Bardstow^n  has  already  two 
Seminaries  and  three  public  schools  taught  by 

*He  evidently  speaks  only  of  the  portions  then  known  or  in- 
cluded within  Territorial  limits. 


406  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.        [1810- 

seminarians ;  a  convent  of  the  Dominican  Or- 
der and  school,  and  another  commencing  in 
Ohio ;  the  congregation  of  the  Sisters  of 
Charity,  situated  at  Nazareth,  near  St. 
Thomas,  out  of  which,  as  already  noted,  sprung 
two  other  establishments ;  and  the  Loretto  So- 
ciety, which  now  contains  eighty  members, 
forty-one  of  whom,  whose  names  here  follow, 
made  their  vows  for  life  on  the  20th  day  of  De- 
cember, 1819. 


1820.] 


LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX. 


40T 


t-icr!i-|Qr;o!rioi-'t-'COOOcct-'ot-*t-'t-<!-'?;Qt-'C5or>t-'t-'Ot-'QOOt-'or;ir'l-' 


"f'f?'B-'B 


>  3  5^^3  8?-? 

B  =  B  3 


o  og^p  2^;^  0  0^,^0  j 


KCBKwrocc  men  OJ ;/;  cca  wcc  wiTiKcc  CO  CO  wo;  o)  air/!  8c  CO  or  cccc  CO  cejyiccty^wj^g^gtlj 

"  ~  S'  S'  m  m  »■  5'  M  S'  5' "  »■  ~  m  w  S'  m'  m  m'  ~  S' "  ~  m  m  m  "'  ~  m  m'  "i'  2.'  ^'  S  "  S^  S  £  S  3 


>l^Cp~j  .!3 


9  P 

o  o  y^  '  '  -  o 


■•7' 


M    W 


p,S  ~— — 2  3  2  2 

(tToj'B 
p  p 


p  p . 


2oo' 


408  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1819- 

"  In  the  eight  years  of  its  existence,  we  have 
to  chronicle  the  death  of  only  three  of  its  mem- 
T3ers,  one  in  each  of  the  three  houses,  and  in 
each  case  the  Superior,  as  if  the  head  had  to  be 
the  foundation  stone  of  each  establishment. 
Their  death,  like  their  life,  had  all  the  signs  of 
predestination." 

Father  IN'erinekx  being  afraid  that  he  might 
be  unable  to  come  back  to  Kentucky,  through 
the  interference  of  the  Dutch  government,  of 
the  inimicable  feelings  of  which  he  was,  as  we 
liave  seen,  perfectly  well  aware,  wrote,  before 
Ms  departure  for  Europe,  the  following : 

"  OPEX  WILL  AND  WISH  OF  THE  WRITER. 

(t) 

"  1820,  5th  of  February,  and  fifty-ninth  year 
of  his  age. 

"  The  writer  of  this,  at  the  eve  of  leaving  this 
country,  declares  that  he  has  no  temporal  pos- 
sessions or  property  to  dispose  of;  what  was  un- 
der his  name  since  he  came  to  America  he  never 
j)retended  to  be  the  owner  of.  God,  God's 
Mother,  God's  Church,  have  bestowed  these  gifts 
upon  him,  and  he  hopes  he  has  directed  them 
well  and  returned  them  to  the  same  proprietors. 
For  the  waste  and  ill  employment  or  wrong  ap- 
plications, he  begs  pardon  of  God  and  men. 

"When  he  will  be  back  in  Europe,  he  will,  at 
this  journey's  end,  be  poorer  than  he  was  in 
1804,  when  he  started  from  thence  for  America. 
He  thanks  God  for  not  having  given  him   the 


18120.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  409 

means  of  heaping  up  riches,  and  for  the  health 
of  body  which  he  has  enjoyed  during  the  whole 
time  of  his  residence  in  this  new  part  of  the 
world,  the  citizens  and  inhabitants  whereof  he 
knows  not  that  he  has  done  any  material  injury, 
so  as  to  be  under  obligation  of  restoring  any 
thing  ill-gotten. 

"As  for  his  employment  and  call  in  the  holy 
ministry,  its  duties  and  performances,  he  can 
but  blush,  grieve,  and  dread.  He  hopes  that 
able  hands,  holy  zeal,  and  fervor  will  repair 
losses  and  damages  caused  or  not  prevented  by 
him,  and  himself  find  room  and  time  to  meet  his 
God  at  a  merciful  hour.     Amen, 

"  The  property  of  land  and  negroes,  etc.,  in 
the  deeds  of  which  his  name  was  mentioned,  is, 
by  way  of  will,  disposed  of  in  another  Avriting. 
What  is  yet  to  be  disposed  of  are  the  following 
articles : 

"  1.  The  utensils  at  the  new  place  (which  I 
would  call  Mount  Mary,  as  I  wish  a  bailding  in 
honor  of  Mary  on  the  hill  of  it),  he  paid  two 
hundred  dollars  for,  a  sum  they  may  be  worth 
now.  It  is  his  desire  that  this  money  should  go 
toward  paying  the  expenses  of  a  clergyman  from 
over  the  sea  for  Kentucky.  He  received  also 
five  hundred  guilders,  say  $180,  for  that  purpose, 
which  was  not  complied  with,  there  being  no 
suitable  gentleman  who  offered  himself. 

"  2.  Seven  hundred  guilders  more  were  given 
by  Miss  Du  Moulin,  of  Mons,  in  Flanders,  for 


410  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1819- 

an  anniversary  in  the  Loretto  chapel,  or  for 
some  Masses,  founded  at  her  intention.  But  he 
thinks  her  intention  more  in  particular  was  ta 
assist  religion  in  America.  This  foundation  is 
not  made ;  but  he  said  some  Masses,  and  some 
solemn  ones  have  been  celebrated.  Both  these 
matters  are  left  to  stand  as  they  are :  it  belongs 
to  the  Bishop  to  fix  them.* 

"  The  House  of  Loretto  is  bound  to  pray  for 
these  as  for  the  other  benefactors. 

"  3.  The  congregations  now  in  Rev.  Mr.  Abel's 
care  owe  him  $25.75  for  loaned  money  when 
Hardinsburg  land  was  bought.  If  there  be  any 
sisters  sent  to  Union  county,  as  the  Bishop  said^ 
they  may  have  this  money.  Charles  Vessel's 
ten  dollars  and  Greorge  Thompson's  debts  are 
for  Loretto.  Thomas  Cecil's  forty  dollars  will 
give  twenty  dollars  to  Loretto,  ten  for  Geth- 
semani,  and  ten  for  Calvary. 

"  The  mortuary  house  of  Leon.  Hamilton  owes 
him  for  Masses  and  salaries,  I  think,  at  least 
twenty  dollars  ;  these  he  gives  to  Calvary.   .   .    . 

"4.  Should  the  congregations  once  under  his 
care  ever  be  moved  to  pay  him  salaries,  they 
may  be  divided  among  the  nunneries  for  the 
benefit  of  the  orphans. 

"5.  If  tidings  arrive  that  he  is  dead,  or  does 
not  return,  his  clothes,  linen,  pictures,  and  En- 
glish books,  as  far  as  useful,  are  for  the  orphans 
of  the   schools,   savingly   and   sparingly   to   be 

*The  reader  will  recollect  that  these  moneys  were  used  for 
Loretto's  benefit. 


1820.]         LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  411 

made  use  of.  Loretto  having  to  take  care  of 
the  greatest  number,  must  have  the  greatest 
share. 

"6.  The  church  apparatus,  viz.,  chalices,  vest- 
ments, etc.,  he  desires  to  remain  as  they  are  and 
where  they  are  at  present.  The  bells  of  Loretto 
never  to  be  removed,  nor  the  pictures.  The 
little  chalice  his  brother  of  London  gave  him, 
and  now  at  Mr.  James  Dent's,  is  only  lent  to 
him  ;  it  may  remain  there  his  lifetime,  if  no 
more  urgent  call  comes. 

"  7.  The  books  at  Loretto  ought  to  be  kept 
unmolested,  and  the  little  library  may  be  at  the 
service  of  the  reverend  gentleman  who  has  the 
care  of  Loretto,  only ;  best  care  to  be  taken  of 
them,  but  never  to  become  his  property,  not 
even  to  change  them  for  others. 

"  The  whole  recommended  to  the  care  of  the 
Right  Rev.  Bishop  Flaget,  or  his  successor  in 
the  See  of  Bardstown. 

"P.  S.  If  Vincent  Gates  and  Polly  Brewer 
live,  they  may  have  a  share  in  the  clothes. 

"  The  writer's  wish,  as  an  addition  to  his  will, 
is :  A  great  desire  and  prayer  that  the  extensive 
tracts  of  America  he  has  walked  over,  and  those 
many  places  in  Europe  he  has  passed  by,  may 
not  call  for  vengeance  upon  him,  for  spilling  in 
so  many  places  the  most  holy  and  precious 
Blood  of  the  true  Son  of  God,  and  true  Son  of 
the  most  Blessed  Mary  his  Mother,  out  of  whom 
he  was  willino-  to  take  his  human  nature  for  our 
sake.     How   many   Sacraments    here   received. 


412  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1819- 

how  many  Sacraments  here  given !  How  many 
worthily,  how  many  unworthily !  How  many 
blunders,  how  many  defects,  how  many  igno- 
rances !     How  many  souls  to  answer  for ! 

"  2.  He  wishes  that  all  the  congregations 
wherever  he  was,  be  forever  recommended  to 
the  Sacred  Hearts  of  Jesus  and  Mary,  in  which 
unbounded  seas  of  love  and  mercy  he  desires 
his  own  numberless  failings  to  be  drowned,  and 
out  of  which  he  begs  that  streams  of  graces 
may  flow  over  these  different  flocks  he  has  been 
so  long  tedious  and  unj^rofitable  to. 

"  3.  He  began  at  the  buildings  of  the  church 
of  Holy  Mary's,  and  he  finishes  at  the  House  of 
the  Virgin  Mary,  Loretto.  May  he  die  under 
the  protection  of  his  Mother  of  Mercy ! 

"4.  He  wishes  the  Friends  of  Mary  the  best 
success  in  holiness  and  all  holy  happiness,  that 
the  Suffering  Jesus  and  the  Sorrowful  Mary 
may  have  armies  of  consoling  Friends,  faithful 
on  Calvary  and  glorious  in  the  Heavenly  Sion. 

"  In  order  to  this,  he  begs  by  all  the  drops  of 
blood  and  by  all  the  sweat  and  tears  of  the  Lov- 
ing Jesus,  and  through  the  sweetness  of  Mary, 
that  the  members  of  the  Loretto  Society  and 
particularly  of  the  House  of  Loretto,  should 
ever  study  their  rules — never  make  any  the 
least  infraction  in  them.  Poverty  and  humility 
of  Jesus  and  Mary ;  obedience  and  chastity  of 
Jesus  and  Mary ;  union,  peace,  and  concord  of 
Jesus  and  Maiy  ;  zeal  for  souls — your  own  and 
that  of  so  many  desolate  orphans  and  scholars 


1820.]         LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NEKINCKX.  413. 

— burning  zeal  of  Jesus  and  Mary !  Gain  souls, 
hunt  souls,  catch  souls,  court  souls,  draw  souls, 
pull  souls,  carry  souls,  deliver  souls,  shelter 
souls,  buy  souls !  .  .  .  Souls !  souls !  and 
nothing  but  souls,  for  the  love  of  Jesus,  the 
owner  of  all  souls  ! 

"  0  Loretto  Sisters !  let  Loretto  be  Loretto 
forever ! — Loretto  houses,  Loretto  dresses,  Lo- 
retto labors,  Loretto  hardshi2:)s,  Loretto  food, 
Loretto  furniture,  Loretto  sisters,  Loretto 
scholars !  Every  house  on  the  place  Loretto 
house !  Stick  to  the  tree  that  Mary  planted 
there !  Stick  to  the  cross  that  Mary  raised 
there !  Stick  to  the  walls  that  Mary  built 
there !  Stick  to  the  dress  that  Mary  gave 
there !  Make  use  of  the  graces  that  Mary  ob- 
tained there !  Love  what  she  said !  Like 
what  she  fixed!  Do  what  she  loved!  0 
Friends  of  Mary  !  0  sweet,  0  glorious  title  ! 
Be  not  unworthy  of  it !  Do  not  degenerate 
from  it ! 

"  The  writer's  wish  is  here  set  down  on  paper; 
may  he  hear  it  accomplished  on  earth,  and  may 
he  see  it  rewarded  in  the  company  of  the 
Friends  of  Mary  in  heaven  !    Amen  !    Amen  !  !"^ 

Address : 

"  To  the  Friends  of  Mary." 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

1820. 

Father  Nekinckx'  second  journey  to  Europe. — Mustela  putorius 
OR  Mephitis  americana? — Major  Noble,  of  Virginia. — Reminis- 
cences  BY   THE   wayside:    THE   IXDIAN   CHIEF   OF   VlNCEXXES. — Mr. 

Thompson,  of  the  Alleghanies. — Baltimore  and  its  environs. 
— London. — Letters  of  Bishop  Flaget,  the  sisters  of  Loretto 
and  Father  Nerinckx. 

Father  Nerinckx,  accompanied  by  Rev.  Mr. 
Ohabrat,  who  was  going  on  a  visit  to  his  native 
France,  started  on  his  second  journey  to  Europe 
in  the  Spring  of  1820.  The  following  interest- 
ing account  of  their  journey  on  horseback  to 
Baltimore,  written  at  his  brother's  house  in 
Somerstown,  London,  in  dated  : 

"  0.  L.  Ascension  Day,  1820. 

"  Two  months  and  four  days  from  Loretto  to 
London. 

"  We  left  the  Seminary  of  Bardstown  the 
"Qth  day  of  March,  1820 ;  a  violent  wind,  a  frost 
which  lasted  about  four  weeks,  and  six  inches  of 
snow  on  the  ground,  rendering  our  journey  very 
painful  and  dangerous.  My  companion,  who  is 
blessed  with  the  gift  of  tongue,  preached  at  sev- 

(414) 


1820.]         LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  415 

era!  towns,  in  the  eourt-houses  (there  being  no 
churches),  along  the  way,  to  the  great  satisfac- 
tion of  all,  but  especially  of  those  to  whom  the 
tenets  of  our  Holy  Catholic  Faith  were  'yet 
new.  After  about  a  week's  travel,  we  met  with 
a  little  accident  which  may  excite  your  curios- 
ity. Right  before  us  on  the  road  was  a  little 
animal  about  the  size  of  a  small  dog,  entirely 
unknown  to  us,  but  beautiful  to  look  at,  with  its 
striped  fur  and  handsome  tail.  We  hastened  to 
surprise  it,  and  make  it  come  to  a  standstill ; 
but  the  thing  seemed  in  no  hurry,  and  just  as 
we  tried  to  bring  it  within  reach  by  a  light 
stroke  of  the  whip,  it  settled  quietly  down,  and 
wagging  its  beautiful  tail,  made  a  well  directed 
sweep  at  us  with  a  certain  liquid  substance 
which  emitted  the  most  abominable  of  odors. 
This  most  unbearable  of  smells  communicated 
itself  to  our  clothes,  and  saturated  them  so  that 
it  annoyed  us  for  two  months.  Some  say  that 
the  stench  never  leaves  them,  and  the  dogs  who 
hunt  that  animal  are  sick  for  many  days  after, 
infecting  their  master's  house  and  even  the 
grain  in  the  barn.  That  interesting  animal  is 
called  a  polecat;  we  had  often  experienced  the 
effects  of  its  presence  on  our  travels  through  the 
country,  but  had  never  seen  it.  This  proves, 
better  than  any  musk,  the  divisibility  of  matter ! 
The  polecat  defends  itself  with  no  other  weapons, 
and  fears  hardly  any  enemy.  It  taught  us  not 
to  interfere  with  unknown  things,  and  to  keep 
away  from   them  even  when  their  appearance 


416  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [1820. 

charms  us.  Lack  of  this  precaution  has  filled 
many  a  region  with  stench  ! 

"About  this  place  we  had  to  ford  a  river,  the 
water  of  which  was  so  high  that  our  horses  had 
to  swim,  but  we  crossed  it  without  accident. 

*'  Leaving  the  State  of  Kentucky,  we  arrived, 
after  a  few  days  of  travel,  at  Somerset,  a  catho- 
lic station  in  the  State  of  Ohio.  Four  years 
ago,  this  place  had  scarcely  half  a  dozen  houses, 
and,  perhaps,  thirteen  German  families  in  the 
environs.  To-day,  there  are  about  a  hundred 
dwellings,  and  a  city,  with  a  beautiful  square, 
laid  out.  This  mission,  called  St.  Joseph's,  is  in 
charge  of  the  Dominican  Fathers,  and  is  already 
attended  by  so  many  catholic  families,  that  the 
church,  but  lately  built,  is  going  to  be  enlarged 
this  year  in  order  to  accommodate  them  all.  In 
six  months,  thirty  families,  mostly  Methodists, 
were  gained  over  to  the  true  church,  among 
them  a  lawyer  of  great  ability.  We  remained 
here  two  nio-hts. 

"  Desirous  of  paying  a  visit  to  Mr.  Noble, 
in  Virginia,  we  lost  the  opportunity  of  calling 
on  Prince  Gallitzin,  the  venerable  missionary 
jiriest  of  Pennsylvania,  who  more  or  less  ex- 
pected us.  This  missionary,  of  whom  I  have 
spoken  in  former  letters,  is  himself  a  convert  to 
our  lioly  religion,  one  of  its  most  able  defenders 
with  the  pen  as  well  as  in  the  pulpit,  and  I 
would  not  be  at  all  surprised  if  he  were  nomi- 
nated to  one  of  our  new  dioceses.     He  is  a  re- 


1820.]  LIFE  OF  EEV.  CHAKLES  NERINCKX.  417 

nownetl  preacher  in  English  and  German,  but  is 
troubled  with  many  infirmities. 

"  We  found  Mr.  Noble,  of  Virginia,  at  home ; 
and  here  my  companion  had  to  change  horses,, 
his  being  exhausted.  Mr.  Noble,  commonly 
called  Major  Noble,  is  a  recent  convert  to  the 
catholic  church,  and  deserves  to  be  held  up  to  the 
best  of  catholics  as  an  example  of  submission  to 
the  church.  The  history  of  his  conversion  is 
too  interesting  to  be  omitted :  A  catholic,  on  his- 
way  from  Kentucky  to  Baltimore,  stayed  all 
night  at  Mr.  Noble's  house,  and  that  gentleman 
having  noticed  that  his  guest  did  not  join  the 
family  in  prayer  before  and  after  supper,  asked 
him  the  reason  of  his  unchristianlike  conduct. 
The  catholic  answered,  oifering  him  a  small  vol- 
ume:  "If  you  will  take  the  pains  to  read  this 
book,  you  will  know,  before  my  return,  the  rea- 
son of  my  refusal  to  join  in  your  prayers." 
Mr.  Noble  accepted  the  oifer,  and  next  day  the 
traveler  continued  his  journey.  .  .  .  On 
his  return  from  Baltimore,  he  inquired  of  his 
host  whether  he  had  found  out  the  reason  of 
his  conduct,  and  was  happily  surprised  when 
Major  Noble  answered  in  the  affirmative,  ask- 
ing, at  the  same  time,  what  he  had  to  do  to  be- 
come forthwith  a  member  of  the  catholic  church, 
since,  in  his  opinion,  there  was  no  need  for  fur- 
ther inquiry,  and  he  desired  to  lose  no  time. 
The  catholic  observed  that  the  fact  of  hav- 
ing married  his  first  wife's  sister  might  be  an  ob- 
stacle  in   the  way  of  his  conversion ;   but  Mr. 


418  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [1820. 

[N'oble  answered  promptly  and  generously  that 
whatever  might  be  required  of  him,  he  was 
ready  to  do  it.  The  matter  w^as  immediately 
referred  to  the  Vicar-general,*  who  advised  Mr. 
Noble  to  separate  from  his  wife  until  the  neces- 
rsary  dispensation  would  be  obtained  from  Rome. 
The  really  nolle  convert  complied  forthwith 
with  the  request,  and,  to  make  matters  easier, 
undertook  a  journey  to  New  Orleans  with  four 
or  five  vessels  of  merchandise.  In  about  six 
months  the  dispensation  arrived  from  Rome 
and  Mr.  Noble  from  New  Orleans,  and  the 
Yicar-general  was  requested  by  both  husband 
and  wife  (for  she  became  a  convert  at  the  same 
time  her  husband  did)  to  receive  them  into  the 
church,  and  join  them  in  the  holy  bonds  of  a 
lawful  marriage.  But  before  this  was  done, 
their  house  was  literally  stormed  by  the  protest- 
ant  parsons  of  the  neighborhood,  who  took  the 
loss  of  this  prominent  and  most  respectable 
family  much  to  heart.  The  very  day  he  was  re- 
ceived into  the  church,  five  ministers  came  to 
entreat  him  to  reconsider  so  rash  a  resolution, 
and  to   prevent  his  conversion  at  all  hazards. 

*Viz.,  to  Father  Badin,  of  whom  Father  Nerinckx  always 
speaks  as  "the  Vicar-general."  Archbishop  Spalding  gives  an 
entirely  diflferent  account  of  Major  Noble's  conversion,  page  180 
of  his  "  Sketches  of  Kentucky,"  which  were  edited  with  the  as- 
sistance of  Father  Badin.  We  must,  however,  observe  that 
Father  Badin  was,  at  the  time  of  the  writing  of  that  book 
(1844),  seventy-six  years  of  age,  and  could  scarcely  be  expected 
to  remember,  after  a  lapse  of  at  least  twenty-five  years,  all  the 
particulars  of  a  not  uncommon  event,  which  Father  Nerinckx 
iiere  relates  shortly  after  it  had  happened. 


18-20.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  419 

But  Major  Noble  only  answered  that  he  was  'too 
well  convinced  of  the  truth  of  the  catholic 
church  to  remain  any  longer  a  slave  of  their  er- 
rors, and  politely  requested  them  to  go  away 
from  the  house  and  leave  his  family  in  peace. 
His  conversion  has  been  followed  by  many 
others.  .  .  .  It  is  not  every  day  we  meet 
with  persons  of  so  great  a  force  of  character, 
ready  to  make  such  sacrifices  and  to  conquer  in 
a  manly  way  all  human  respect. 

"  I  desire  to  notice  here  another  conversion 
which  1  do  not  think  I  related  before.  The 
Hev.  Father  Rosati,  a  Lazarist  of  St.  Louis,  and 
Rev.  Mr.  Chabrat,  a  priest  of  Kentucky,  who 
related  the  incident  to  me,  being  at  Post  Vin- 
cennes,  in  the  State  of  Indiana,  met  on  the 
streets  of  that  city  an  old  chief  of  one  of  the  In- 
dian tribes.  x\pproaching  them  with  great  re- 
spect, the  Indian  seized  Father  Rosati  by  the 
arm,  saying :  '  You  are  the  minister  of  the 
Great  Spirit ;  I  want  you  to  tell  me  what  I  have 
to  do  to  serve  Him ! '  Having  secured  an  in- 
terpreter, Mr.  Rosati  began  the  conversation  by 
askins:  him  whether  he  believed  in  the  existence 
of  a  Grreat  Spirit?  'Yes,'  replied  the  chief, 
'  that  I  always  believed ;  and  I  will  tell  you  how 
I  serve  Him :  On  getting  up  in  the  morning, 
raising  my  hands  to  heaven  (and  here  he  suited 
the  action  to  the  words),  I  thank  Him  for  having 
preserved  me  during  the  night,  and  ask  Him  to 
help  me  during  the  day  ;  at  night  I  thank  Him 
for  his  protection  of  the  day,  and  beseech  Him 


420  I^IFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1820. 

to  preserve  me  from  all  dangers  during  the 
night.  Any  thing  else  I  know  not,  and  do  not ; 
but  you  are  His  minister,  and  you  have  to  tell 
me  what  is  to  be  done.'  '  Do  you  know,'  further 
inquired  Father  Rosati,  'that  in  that  Great  Spirit 
there  are  three  persons,  namely  :  the  Father, 
the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost  ?^'  '  That  I  did 
not  know,'  promptly  answered  the  simple  child  of 
the  forest ;  '  but  I  believe  it,  because  you  tell  me 
to.  You  are  His  minister,  and  ought  to  know.' 
Father  Rosati  undertook  to  instruct  the  old  man 
carefully  for  several  days,  and  found  him  to  be  an 
apt  scholar,  owing  to  his  noble  faith.  The  priest 
having  given  him  an  instruction  about  baptism, 
the  Indian  immediately  signified  his  intense  de- 
sire to  receive  the  sacrament,  putting  his  hand 
repeatedly  on  his  head.  As  soon  as  he  thought 
the  chief  sufficiently  prepared,  the  priest  delayed 
no  longer,  and  administered  to  him  that  most 
necessary  of  sacraments.  Scarcely  was  he  bap- 
tized, when  he  was  prostrated  by  a  very  violent 
sickness,  which  caused  his  death  in  a  very  few 
days.  As  long  as  the  instructions  lasted, 
and  also  during  the  illness,  his  son  and  some 
other  Indians  were  constantly  around  him. 
They  came  in  large  numbers  to  assist  at  the 
funeral,  which  was  celebrated  in  the  most  sol- 
emn manner,  in  the  presence  of  most  all  the 
citizens  of  the  place.  The  ceremonies  made  a 
strong  and  lasting  impression  upon  the  Indians, 
and  when  they  were  at  an  end,  the  chief's  son, 
together  with  many  of  his  tribe,  came  to  thank 


]S20.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  421 

Father  Rosati,  kissed  his  hands,  and  entreated 
him  to  come  and  live  with  them,  and  instruct 
them  as  he  had  done  their  okl  father,  that  they 
might  die  as  he  had  done.  They  finally  left, 
sad,  because  of  the  loss  of  their  chief,  whom  they 
had  much  loved  and  respected  ;  but  happy  and 
edified,  because  of  -his  beautiful  death,  so  full  of 
true  courage,  resignation,  and  edification. 

"And  now  allow  me  a  remark.  How  did  this 
chief  know  that  there  was  a  Great  Spirit  ?  He 
had  never  fallen  into  the  hands  of  any  fanatic. 
Who  had  told  him  that  Father  Rosati  was  the 
minister  of  the  Great  Spirit,  since  they  had 
never  seen  one  another  nor  ever  spoken  one  to 
another.  Mr.  Rosati  was  there  by  chance,  for 
he  did  not  reside  in  that  region,  but  belonged  to 
the  suite  of  Bishop  Dubourg,  with  whom  he  now 
resides,  in  Louisiana.  It  seems  that  this  Indian, 
without  book  or  printing-press,  knew  fully  as 
much  and  did  more  than  many  a  learned 
scholar  of  to-day,  who,  after  long  study,  reading 
and  writing,  did  not  yet  find  out  the  Great 
Spirit,  nor  learn  the  prayer  of  the  wild  man  of 
the  forest.  Had  this  Indian  chief  fallen  into 
the  hands  of  the  great  and  learned  (!)  masters, 
it  is  likely  he  would  not  have  died  as  he  did. 

"A  few  years  ago,  I  baptized,  Avhen  in  that  re- 
gion, some  of  these  Indians'  children.  Although 
the  slaves  of  many  vices  and  very  ignorant, 
these  savages  exhibited  very  good  dispositions 
and  had  many  natural  virtues.  We  traveled 
through  their  hunting  grounds  without  molesta- 


422  LTFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [1820. 

tion  and  without  being  once  insulted  ;  there  was 
not  the  least  necessity  for  a  guide ;  wherever  we 
met  them,  they  were  friendly.  They  were  all  de- 
cently covered,  the  women  especially  so.  Their 
jollifications  and  dances  were  held  among  them- 
selves, without  the  females  participating  in 
them  ;  as,  for  instance,  when  one  hundred  and 
forty  of  their  number  came  to  greet  Governor 
Harrison.  After  having  delivered  their  address, 
they  sent  their  women  away  with  the  guns  which 
they  everywhere  carry  with  them,  and  per- 
formed several  dances,  after  Avhich  the  women 
returned.  Unhappily,  they  like  very  much 
spirituous  liquor,  which  the  whites  sell  to  them 
for  the  sake  of  filthy  lucre,  and  when  under  the 
influence  of  it,  they  become  very  cruel.  Their 
wars,  carried  on  between  the  diiferent  tribes, 
are  also  very  barbarous  ;  and,  at  such  times, 
woe  to  the  pale  face  who  falls  into  their  hands  ; 
they  torture  him  in  the  most  atrocious  manner. 

"  Having  bid  farewell  to  Mr.  ]\"oble,  we  con- 
tinued our  journey,  and  two  days  after  arrived 
at  Mr.  Thompson's,  a  very  virtuous  catholic,  liv- 
ing in  the  great  Alleghany  Mountains.  After 
breakfast,  that  gentleman,  who  lives  here  with 
his  four  children  by  a  second  wife,  invited  us  to 
inspect  the  church  which  he  is  building  on  his 
own  farm  and  at  his  own  expense,  the  few  catho- 
lic families  in  the  neighborhood  being  poor.  He 
thinks  the  building  will  cost  no  less  than  |10,000, 
and  he  added  that  he  was  going  to  sell  part  of  his 
lands  to  be  enabled  to  finish  the  church,  which 


182).]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  42S 

is  now  raised  up  to  the  windows.  Being  some- 
w^hat  of  an  architect,  Mr.  Thompson*  made  the 
plan  himself.  It  is  in  the  form  of  a  dome,  and 
pleases  me  better  than  any  church  I  have  yet 
seen  in  America.  He  also  offers  land  for  a 
priest  and  school,  and  it  seems  that  Father  Du- 
bois, the  founder -of  Emmettsburg,  is  going  to 
accept  the  offer.  The  church  will  be  dedicated 
to  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary. 

"  The  conduct  and  generosity  of  this  catholic 
gentleman  are  seldom  imitated  in  Europe,  even 
by  the  richest  of  catholics.  It  is  then  very  un- 
justly, that  all  our  American  Catholics  are 
looked  upon  as  ungenerous  and  unwilling  to  con- 
tribute to  the  spiritual  wants  of  the  church. 
For,  if  you  notice  the  number  and  diversity  of 
buildings  mentioned  above,  you  can  not  but  see 
that,  since  the  time  Archbishop  Carroll,  who  has 
now  been  dead  five  years,  first  became  Bishop, 
many  have  been  the  sacrifices  made  by  catholics. 
Before  that  time  they  were  continually  op- 
pressed and  persecuted  in  the  true  sense  of  the 
word,  and  that  lamentable  state  of  things  only 
came  to  an  end  with  the  Revolution.  Of  course, 
we  acknowledge  that  here,  like  in  Europe,  not  all 
who  profess  to  be  catholics  dare  practice  their  re- 
ligion faithfully.  Surely  not ;  and  the  uninter- 
rupted immigration  from  the  Old  World  is  little 
calculated  to  brighten  our  hopes.    .    .    .    Hence, 

*This  is  the  Mr.  Thompson  to  whom  Rev.  Nerinckx  refers  in 
his  letter  to  the  Archbishop  of  Baltimore  in  the  previous  chap- 
ter. 


424  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [1820. 

gifts  from  Europe  will  always  be  gratefully  ac- 
cepted ;  for  this  country  is  so  vast,  that  there  is 
no  end  to  our  needs.  We  have  to  work  in  a  wil- 
derness, as  it  were,  in  which  many  articles,  such 
as  books,  statues,  silks,  etc.,  are  not  to  be  had, 
even  if  we  had  the  money  with  which  to  pur- 
chase them. 

"  It  may  be  worth  a  passing  notice,  that  Mr. 
Thompson  lives  on  the  road  from  Wheeling  to 
Baltimore,  which  is  to  be  a  twenty  mile  stone 
road,  sixty  feet  wide,  right  through  the  moun- 
tains and  rock  ;  three  hundred  Irishmen,  mostly 
catholics,  have  undertaken  the  job,  and  have  to 
finish  it  by  the  month  of  August  of  this  year.  A 
similar  stone  road  is  resolved  upon  from  Louis- 
ville to  Pittsburg,  a  distance  of  more  than  five 
hundred  miles.  Over  eighty  steamboats  are 
constantly  plying  up  and  down  the  Ohio  ;  some 
averaging  three  hundred  and  even  five  hun- 
dred ton  ;  going  down  stream  they  run  at  the 
rate  of  two  hundred  miles  in  twenty-four  hours, 
and  not  unfrequently  reach  New  Orleans,  a  dis- 
tance of  one  thousand  two  hundred  miles,  in  five 
days.  Many  rivers  are  being  provided  with 
locks  to  make  them  navigable ;  canals  are  being 
made  for  communication  between  the  lakes, 
rivers,  and  sea ;  the  building  up  of  numerous 
cities,  and  i)ublic  improvements  are  being 
pushed  ahead  with  incredible  spirit.  But  these 
matters  are  not  of  the  sphere  of  my  letter,  in 
which  I  wish  to  treat  of  ecclesiastical  matters 
only. 


J820.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  425 

"  Leaving  Mr.  Thompson,  we  continued  our 
journey,  and  arrived  on  the  Wednesday  ^  of 
Holy  Week  in  Emmettsburg,  Mary  hind,  founded 
by  Rev.  Mr.  Dubois,  a  Sulpitian.  Forty  young 
men,  attending  the  college  which  he  instituted 
here,  had  made  their  first  communion  the  Palm 
Sunday  previous.  ■  The  situation  of  the  college 
on  the  mountain  is  very  picturesque ;  the  disci- 
pline of  the  institution  is  edifying  ;  many  of  the 
scholars,  who  also  pursue  the  studies  of  phi- 
losophy and  theology,  are  from  the  West  Indies. 
The  Sisters  of  Charity  also  have  an  academy 
liere,  and  are  doing  well.  Both  institutions 
have  about  a  hundred  scholars. 

"  Proceeding  on  our  journey  (the  weather  con- 
tinued cold),  we  arrived  on  Thursday  night  in 
Fredericktown,  at  the  house  of  Rev.  Father 
Malave,  an  old  acquaintance.  This  zealous  mis- 
sionary has  recently  bought  a  house,  which  he 
intends  altering  into  a  school  for  the  education 
of  children  whose  parents  are  unable  to  pay.  A 
married  man  with  his  family  lives  in  the  house, 
with  the  understanding  that  he  has  to  teach  the 
poor  children. 

"  Having  passed  through  Mo7itgomery  Court- 
House,  a  little  town  where  Rev.  De  Vos  is  sta- 
tioned, we  arrived  at  Georgetoion,  fifty  miles  from 
Fredericktown,  in  time  to  celebrate  Easter. 
Here  we  admired  the  flourishing  condition  of 
the  Society  of  Jesus,  which  counts  over  fifty 
members,  and  of  their  beautiful  college,  accommo- 


426  r>IFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [18201 

dating  about  a  hundred  students.  At  the  col- 
lege I  had  the  pleasure  of  an  introduction  to  and 
conversation  with  Mr.  Barber,  the  converted 
i:)reacher  of  whom  I  spoke  to  you  before.  He  is 
studying  theology ;  his  conduct  is  exemplary, 
and  his  progress  in  study  surprising.  He  can  not 
but  wonder  now,  how  the  truth  so  clearly  demon- 
strated in  his  authors,  can  be  so  persistently  de- 
nied by  the  enemies  of  the  church,  and  when  he 
reflects  how  long  he  remained  in  ignorance,  he 
is  truly  ashamed  of  himself.  His  only  son,  a 
boy  of  about  twelve  years,  pursues  his  studies  at 
the  same  college.  We  also  paid  a  visit  to  Mrs. 
Barber,  the  wdfe  of  the  Jesuit  Father  just  men- 
tioned ;  she  made  her  solemn  vows  at  the  Con- 
vent of  the  Visitation,  near  the  church  where 
Mr.  De  Theux  is  pastor.  This  convent  was 
established  by  the  recently  deceased  Archbishop 
L.  Neale,  has  fifty  religious,  and  keeps,  besides 
the  boarders,  among  whom  are  Mrs.  Biirber's 
three  little  daughters,  a  school  for  day  scholars 
and  one  for  poor  children.  I  was  also  told  that 
Mr.  Barber's  father  and  mother  joined  the 
church  recently.  The  father,  also  a  j)rotestant 
minister,  tries  to  bring  more  into  the  true  fold 
by  writing  pamphlets.  He  is  living  in  Massa- 
chusetts,* and  his  writings  had  one  good  effect : 

*  Daniel  Barber,  A.  M.,  born  at  Salisbiuy,  Conn.,  October  2, 
1756,  was  originally  a  Congregationalist  minister.  His  youngest 
sister  married  Noah  Tyler,  and  became  the  mother  of  Bishop 
Tyler,  of  Hartford.  In  1807  he  baptized  in  his  sect  Miss  Allen, 
daughter  of  General  Ethan  Allen,  who  subsequently  became  a  con- 
vert, and  joined  the  community  of  Hospital  Sisters  of  the  Hotel 


]S20.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CIIAKLES  NERINCKX.  42T 

Many  families  have  already  adopted  all  the  catho- 
lic practices  they  know  of,  and  evince  a  great 
desire  to  assist  at  the  Holy  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass. 
There  are  few  or  no  catholics  in  that  State  ;  the 
young  Barber  will  likely  be  sent  there  as  soon 
as  ordained,  and  will  be  the  first  priest  ever  sent 
into  that  part  of  the  country. 

''  During  our  three  days'  stay  at  Georgetown, 
we  crossed  over  to  Washington,  the  capital  of 
the  United  States,  contiguous  to  this  city,  in  or- 
der to  obtain  our  j^assports.  We  were  treated 
with  much  civility,  and  our  papers  signed  by 
Mr.  Adams,  Secretary  of  State,  were  given 
us  gratis  and  without  delay.  Whilst  here,  w^e 
went  to  see  St.  Patrick's  catholic  church,  which, 

Dieu  in  Montreal,  where  she  piously  died,  in  1 819.  Mr.  Barber  be- 
came an  Episcopalian  minister  at  Schenectady,  N.  Y.,  at  thirty 
years  of  age,  and  continued  to  act  as  such,  iirst  at  Manchester,  Yt., 
then  at  Claremont,  N.  H.,  for  thirty  years.  His  youngest  son,  Vir- 
gil, born  in  1782,  was  a  parson  in  Fairfield,  N.  Y.,  in  1816 ;  coming 
to  visit  his  father,  he  read  some  catholic  books,  which  the  latter 
had  borrowed  from  Bishop  Cheverus.  Before  his  father  saw  him 
again,  Virgil  and  his  family  had  become  converts  the  same  year. 
Virgil  had  been  to  Rome  in  1817;  on  his  return,  in  1818,  his  wife 
had  become  a  nun,  at  the  Visitation,  Georgetown,  and  he  him- 
self was  preparing  for  the  priesthood.  He  visited  his  father  in 
Claremont  in  1818,  and  made  converts  of  his  father  and  sister,  and 
of  his  aunt,  Mrs.  Tyler,  and  the  latter's  eldest  daughter.  He 
then  went  to  Georgetown,  and  subsequently  returned  to  Clare- 
mont, where  he  remained  until  the  death  of  his  wife  in  1825. 
Daniel  Barber  still  lived  in  1834.  Father  Virgil  H.  Barber, 
S.  J.,  died  in  Georgetown  College,  March  27,  1847,  at  the  age  of 
sixty -five.  His  wife,  Mrs.  Jerusha  Booth  Barber, 'born  at  New" 
Town,  Conn.,  July  20,  1789,  in  i-eligion  Sister  Mary  Augustine,. 
died  at  Summerville,  near  Mobile,  Ala.,  on  the  night  of  January 
1,  1860.  Their  only  son,  Samuel,  became  a  Jesuit,  and  their  four 
daughters  entered  the  convent. 


428  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [1820. 

upon  my  first  arrival  in  America,  consisted  of  a 
square  frame  building  in  very  poor  condition ;  it 
is  now  a  handsome  church  of  freestone,  accom- 
modating three  thousand  people.  The  funeral 
.service  for  the  Duke  de  Berry  had  just  been 
held  in  the  presence  of  all  the  foreign  ambassa- 
dors and  of  the  most  prominent  members  of  the 
United  States  Congress,  which  was  just  then 
holding  its  sessions.  Rev.  Father  Kenney, 
Visitor  of  the  Jesuits,  and  an  Irishman  of  un- 
common eloquence,  preached  the  funeral  oration, 
to  the  admiration  and  delight  of  all  present. 
That  same  day  had  been  appointed  by  Congress 
to  render  funeral  honors  to  Admiral  Decatur, 
whose  unfortunate  death*  had  just  occurred, 
and  who  had  reaped  so  much  glory  during  the 
war  with  England  ;  but  they  adjourned  the  cere- 
mony in  order  to  assist  at  the  services  in  the 
catholic  church. 

"  Rev.  Mr.  Chabrat  here  disposed  of  his  horse, 
and  went  by  stage  to  Baltimore,  a  distance  of 
forty-five  miles.  I  kept  mine,  although  it  has 
but  one  eye,  (and  I  hope  to  find  it  in  Baltimore 
at  my  return,)  because  it  is  gentle  and  strong, 
and  especially  because  I  can  not  now  afford  to 
buy  another.  Horses  that  can  stand  plenty  of 
work  and  travel  are  the  only  ones  worth  having 
for  a  missionary  priest.  Before  going  to  Balti- 
more, I  paid  a  flying  visit  to  White  Marsh,  the 
novitiate  of  the  Jesuits,  where  I  arrived  the 
Wednesday     after     Easter.       I     found     many 

*  He  fell  in  a  duel  with  Commodore  James  Barron. 


1820.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  42l> 

changes :    the  church   is    considerably  enlarged,, 
and  they  had  about  thirteen  novices  at  the  time. 

"  I  had  only  thirty  miles  more  to  travel  tO' 
reach  Baltimore.  Coming  from  White  Marsh 
on  to  the  main  road  to  that  city,  you  get  a  tine 
view  of  the  catholic  metropolis,  which,  viewed 
from  a  distance  of  five  or  six  miles,  seems  to 
hang  on  the  mountain  side.  The  first  object 
that  strikes  the  eye  is  the  majestic  metropolitan 
church  overlooking  the  whole  city,  and  the  dome 
of  which  required  over  three  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  feet  of  cut  stone  above  the  roof,  other 
stones  and  materials  not  included.  In  that 
dome  are  two  principal  rooms,  one  of  which  is 
destined  for  the  library  of  the  archdiocese. 
Archbishop  Marechal,  a  Sulpitian,  formerly 
professor  of  the  Seminary  of  Lyons,  France, 
and  lately  rector  of  the  Seminary  of  Baltimore, 
has  already  donated  all  his  books  to  that  library. 
This  metropolitan  church,  without  doubt  the 
most  important  building  of  the  kind  in  this  part 
of  America,  will,  exclusively  of  gratuitous  gifts 
and  interior  ornaments,  cost  over  $250,000. 
The  Archbishop  hopes  to  have  it  ready  for  ser- 
vices by  the  15th  of  August,  feast  of  the  As- 
sumption of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary,  the  pa- 
tron feast  of  the  archdiocese.* 

"  The  young  men  of  Lyonsf  have  given  notice 

*  It  was  not  dedicated  till  May  31,  1821,  having  been  begun 
by  Archbishop  Carroll  eighteen  years  before.  Cfr.  "The  Catho- 
lic Church  in  the  United  States,"  by  Henry  de  Coutcy,  pg.  110. 

fThe  Latin  inscription  on  the  altar  states  that  this  altar  was- 
presented  by  "priests  of  Marseilles,  to  Ambrose,  Archbishop  of 


430  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [1820. 

to  the  Archbishop  of  their  intention  to  present 
to  his  metropolitan  church  a  high  altar  of  white 
marble ;  the  King  of  France  is  going  to  send 
him  a  beautiful  bell. 

"A  few  months  ago,  died  in  Baltimore  a 
sailor,  who,  after  having  lived  many  years  as  an 
habitual  drunkard,  invested  his  last  $50  in  a 
lottery,  the  highest  premium  of  which  was 
150,000.  Desiring  to  satisfy  his  craving  appe- 
tite for  drink,  he  soon  afterward  offered  to  sell 
his  tickets  for  $10,  but  he  could  find  nobody 
willing  to  buy  them,  and  he  was  obliged  to  await 
the  result  of  the  lottery.  To  his  amazement, 
he  gained  the  highest  prize,  and  began  his  life 
of  debauchery  anew.  Finally  he  fell  sick, 
and  died  about  a  month  after,  having  passed  his 
last  days  in  deploring  the  excesses  of  his  past 
life.  By  his  will,  he  ^left  $10,000  to  the  metro- 
politan cathedral  and  $5,000  to  St.  Patrick's 
parish  church.  The  lesson  given  by  this  drunk- 
ard, brought  by  sickness  to  reason,  temperance, 
and  faith,  has  few  followers  even  among  the 
more  pious. 

"  Close  by  the  metropolitan  church,  the  Uni- 
tarians  or   Socinians   have    erected    their  first 

Baltimore,  formerly  their  professor  of  theology."  Archbishop 
Marechal  taught  in  Lyons,  St.  Fiour,  and  Aix;  whether  he  did 
at  Marseilles  we  have  seen  nowhere  stated.  May  be  those 
priests  of  Marseilles  studied  under  him  at  Lyons,  or  Father 
Nerinckx,  hearing  of  the  promised  altar  by  the  Archbishop's 
old  students,  and  not  knowing  of  his  teaching  in  Marseilles, 
took  it  for  granted  that  the  Lyons  old  seminarians  were  al- 
luded to. 


1820.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  431 

meeting-house  in  a  very  neat  and  tasty  style; 
but  they  have  miscalcuhitecL  The  buikling 
costs  160,000 ;  it  has  broken  two  or  three  of 
their  best  houses,  and  now  belongs  to  the  bank 
that  lent  them  the  money.  The  architect,  a 
Frenchman  whom  I  met  here  in  London,  did 
not  fare  any  better.  He  lost  all  his  property, 
and  his  only  daughter  died  on  the  way  to 
Europe ;  the  poor  man  feels  the  latter  more 
keenly  than  all  his  other  losses.  Such  are 
sometimes  the  judgments  of  Grod. 

"  I  should  have  remarked  that,  when  they 
commenced  building  the  metropolitan  church,  it 
was  entirely  out  of  town,  there  being  only  a  few 
houses  scattered  around  it.  Situated  about  five 
minutes'  walk  from  St.  Patrick^s  Point,  it  will  be 
very  near  the  center  of  the  city,  if  the  latter  is 
built  up  as  it  is  now  laid  out. 

"  We  had  reached  Baltimore  on  Thursday, 
and  found  there  a  vessel  ready  to  sail  for  Rotter- 
dam the  Sunday  following.  We  had  traveled  a 
whole  month  on  horseback  and  suffered  much, 
and  had  scarcely  time  to  purchase  a  few  neces- 
sary things ;  but  our  taking  the  desired  and 
much  needed  rest  would  have  delayed  us  too 
long,  and  we  embarked  very  early  on  Sunday 
morning.  We  were  the  only  two  passengers, 
had  a  good  captain  and  tolerably  good  sailors, 
so  that  we  enjoyed  a  very  pleasant  trip  after  the 
usual  course  of  sea-sickness  was  gone  through. 
Having  experienced  five  severe,  though  not  very 
dangerous  storms,  we  arrived  before  Dover  the 


432  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  XERINCKX.  [1820.. 

twenty-ninth  clay,  and  resolved  to  land,  and  pa}^ 
a  visit  to  my  brother  and  sister  and  their  school 
for  the  poor  in  Somerstown,  London.  A  car- 
riage took  us  to  the  English  capital  earl}^  in  the- 
morning,  having  made  seventy-two  miles  in  nine 
hours. 

"  Although  London  is  a  wild  world,  we  soon 
found  out  that  many  there  serve  the  Lord  in  re- 
tirement and  devotion.  The  catholics  attend 
faithfully  to  the  services  in  their  churches  ;  and 
the  poor,  who  are  numerous  here,  are  helped 
with  a  generous  liberality.  The  poor  schools 
are  very  much  favored,  and  it  is  worthy  of  note- 
that  the  Duke  of  Sussex,  brother  to  the  king, 
kindly  consented  to  preside  at  the  dinner  which 
is  annually  given  for  the  benefit  of  the  Somers- 
town poor  schools,  where  none  but  catholic  chil- 
dren of  the  j^oorest  class  are  educated.  No 
ladies  are  invited  to  those  dinners,  and  every- 
body pays  his  fare.  After  dinner,  and  a  speech  by 
one  of  the  invited  guests,  the  poor  children  are 
presented  to  the  assembly  by  their  teachers,  and 
every  one  gives  liberally.  Such  a  dinner  realizes 
sometimes  as  high  as  six  or  seven  hundred 
pounds  sterling. 

"  We  bought  a  good  supply  of  English  catho- 
lic books,  which  can  be  had  here  better  than 
anywhere  else,  but  at  high  prices.  We  also 
subscribed  to  the  CathoJicon  and  Orthodox,  two 
catholic  journals  edited  by  laymen,  and  entirely 
devoted  to  the  interests  of  our  holy  faith.  These 
papers    are   well   established   and   count   many^ 


1820.]         LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  43g 

regular  subscribers  in  America.  The  world- 
renowned  Bishop  Milner,  one  of  the  most 
learned  writers  of  the  kingdom,  is  a  regular 
correspondent  of  one  of  them. 

"  I  also  profited  of  this  opportunity,  and  had 
the  rules  of  our  Loretto  Society  printed  here.* 

"  In  London  I  met  Mrs.  Hill,  who,  some  year& 
ago,  lived  with  Mr.  Hill,  her  husband,  at  their 
castle  of  Bornhem,  Belgium.  They  are  both 
English,  and  converts  to  the  catholic  faith.. 
After  having  lived  some  years  together,  they 
have  separated,  by  mutual  consent,  to  lead  a  life 
of  greater  perfection.  Mr.  Hill  became  a 
Dominican  in  Rome,  celebrated  his  first  Mass  in 
that  city  last  Christmas,  and  is  preparing  to  join 
the  Dominicans  in  Kentucky. 

"  Whilst  here,  we  also  heard  of  an  incident  of 
23eculiar  interest,  which  happened  on  the  feast 
of  Corpus  Christi,,  this  being  the  day  on  which 
the  House  takes  the  test  oath,  as  the  oath 
by  which  the  members  are  required  to  deny 
the  real  presence  of  Christ  in  the  Blessed 
Sacrament  and  the  doctrine  of  transubstantiation, 
is  commonly  called.  One  of  the  noble  Lords^ 
having  made  a  few  remarks  on  the  object  of 
that  oath,  based  on  the  pretense  that  catholics  by 
their  act  of  adoration  of  this  sacrament  are  guilty 

*  The  full  title  is  as  follows :  "  Rules  of  the  Society  and  School 
of  Loretto,  Kentucky.  London.  Printed  by  Keating  and  Brown, 
printers  to  the  Rt.  Rev.,  the  Vicars  Apostolic  of  England,  38' 
Duke  street,  Grosvenor  Square.     1820,"  pgg.  48. 


434  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [1820. 

•of  idolatry,  said,  in  the  course  of  his  speech,  that  it 
became  necessary  to  know  what  they  were  actu- 
ally swearing  to.  Said  he :  'To  swear  about 
things  which  we  do  not  sufficiently  know,  would 
make  us  guilty  of  an  inconsiderate  and  rash 
oath.  If  the  catholics  truly  believe  that  Jesus 
Christ  is  really  present  in  that  sacrament,  it  is 
•Christ — that  is,  God — whom  they  adore,  hence 
they  are  not  guilty  of  idolatry.  But,'  concluded 
the  noble  Lord,  '  if  it  is  true  that  catholics  are 
idolaters,  then  all  I  can  say  is,  that  the  Pope 
has  gained  a  comj^lete  victory  over  the  Al- 
mighty ; '  giving  his  colleagues  to  understand 
that  this  idolatry  was  scattered  broadcast  over 
the  whole  world,  since  catholics  are  to  be  found 
everywhere  in  ever  increasing  numbers.  The 
English  have  now  sent  Bishops  and  jmests  to 
their  colonies  and  give  them  pecuniary  sup- 
port ! 

"  In  London,  we  also  admired  the  new  catho- 
lic church  of  Moorefield.  I  also  visited  the  En- 
glish church  of  St.  Paul.  This  building  is 
monumental,  but  can  certainly  not  compare  with 
St.  Peter's  of  Rome,  or  the  Duomo  of  Milan.  I 
am  even  of  the  opinion  that  the  Metropolitan 
church  of  Baltimore,  crowning  the  city  and  hill, 
appears  to  better  advantage  than  St.  Paul's, 
which  stands  very  low." 

After  having  remained  a  few  days  in  London, 
Father  Nerinckx  set  out  for  Belgium.  lie  took 
the  greatest  precautions  not  to  have  his  advent 
there  publicly  heralded,  as  it  had  been  the  first 


1820.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  435 

time  he  revisited  the  land  of  his  birth.  The 
fact  of  his  having  taken  with  him  several  young- 
men,  some  of  whom  were  liable  to  military  con- 
scrij^tion,  made  him  fear  that  his  movements, 
during  this  second  visit,  would  be  watched  with 
suspicion  by  the  governmental  authorities.  On 
this  account,  also,"  he  deemed  it  jnaident  to  avoid 
any  thing  that  might  prove  an  occasion  of  of- 
fense to  the  civil  officers,  and,  during  his  stay  in 
Belgium,  he  selected  retired  places  of  abode. 

The  letters  which  Bishop  Flaget  had  in- 
trusted him  with,  with  a  view  of  obtaining  help 
for  the  Kentucky  missions,  and  the  letter  of 
thanks  from  the  Sisters  of  Loretto,  a  translation 
of  which  we  give  below,  he  circulated  privately 
among  his  friends ;  and  they  had,  if  not  the  suc- 
cess which  would  have  attended  their  publica- 
tion in  print,  the  desired  effect  of  stimulating 
anew  the  generosity  of  Father  Nerinckx' 
countrymen, 

LETTER  OF  BISHOP  FLAGET. 

"  Bardstow^x,  Fehruary  8,  1820. 
"  To  my  Benefactors  of  Belgium: 

"  If  people  of  the  world  would  think  it  a 
breach  of  all  the  rules  of  politeness  not  to  ac- 
knowledge a  service  rendered,  of  what  great 
fault  would  not  priests,  and  especiall}^  a  Bishop, 
be  guilty,  if  they  failed  in  a  duty  so  consonant 
to  reason  and  so  much  recommended  by  our 
holy  faith. 

"AlthouQ-h  I  am  conscious  of  having-  but  verv 


436  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [1820. 

few  of  the  episcopal  virtues,  yet  I  feel  that  I 
have  a  grateful  heart;  and  I  can  say,  in  all 
truth,  that  I  take,  perhaps,  more  j^leasure  in 
publishing  the  favors  clone  to  me,  than  charitable 
souls  have  in  showing  them  to  me.  My  gener- 
ous benefactors  in  Flanders  may  then  rest  as- 
sured that  neither  I  nor  my  faithful  co-operators 
will  ever  forget  them ;  that  their  names  are 
deeply  engraved  in  our  hearts,  and  that  they  are 
inscribed  in  the  annals  of  the  Loretto  convent, 
the  sisters  of  which,  worthy  of  the  lirst  cen- 
turies of  the  church  by  their  austerity  and  their 
fervor,  make  it  their  special  duty  to  pray  ever}^ 
day  for  those  who  have  so  liberally  helped 
them. 

"  Independently  of  the  sweet  satisfaction  that 
we  feel  in  obliging  sensible  and  grateful  souls, 
how  many  merits  do  not  those  charitable  per- 
sons secure  in  the  eyes  of  a  God,  who  does  not 
let  a  glass  of  cold  water  go  without  its  reward  ? 
These  great  motives  will,  I  trust,  enkindle  anew 
the  fire  of  charity  in  the  hearts  of  all  my  gen- 
erous benefactors  of  Flanders ;  and  they  will 
give  new  proofs  of  it  to  their  countryman,. 
Mr.  Nerinckx,  my  zealous  and  terv(Mit  c()-i)j)ei'- 
ator. 

"  Convinced  of  their  good  will  toward  me,  I 
thank  them,  not  only  for  what  the}'  may  do  for 
my  diocese,  but  even  for  what  they  would  have 
the  intention  of  doing ;  and  I  shall  not  cease  to 
pray  to  God  to  reward  them  a  hundred  fold  in 


1820.]         LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  437 

this  world  and  in  the  next,  and  I  subscribe  my- 
-self  their 

"  Very  devoted  and  very  grateful  servant, 
"  f  Benedict  Joseph  Flaget, 

^^  Bishop  of  Bardstown.''^ 

"The  little  Loretto  Society,"  writes  Father 
Nerinckx,  "grateful  for  the  kindness  shown 
them,  and  the  share  they  had  in  the  distribution 
of  church  ornaments  for  their  little  chapel, 
profit  of  this  opportunity  to  testify  their  grati- 
tude to  their  benefactors  by  sending  letters  of 
association  to  all  those  who  took  a  part  in  what 
has  been  provided  for  themselves  or  for  the  dio- 
cese of  Bardstown,  the  welfare  of  which  their 
institute  obliges  them  to  have  especially  at 
heart." 

LETTER  OF  ASSOCIATION. 

t 

Mary. 

"  Sister  Mary,  Sister  Ann,  Sister  Juliana,  and 
Sister  Helen,  Superiors  of  the  Houses  of  the 
Societij  of  the  Friends  of  Mary  in  the  State  of 
Kentucky,  United  States  of  America. 

"  To  the  gentlemen  and  ladies,  our  kind  and 
religious  well-wishers : 

"All  hail  and  blessing  from  the  Suffering 
Jesus  and  His  Sorrowful  Mother  ! ! 

"Although  the  law  of  charity  commands  us  to 
pray  for  all  men,  we  think  ourselves  obliged  to 
do  it  in  a  more   particular  manner  for  those  who 


438  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1820. 

have  shown  their  zeal  for  the  promotion  of  our 
institute,  and  a  special  wish  for  our  remem- 
brances. Knowing  then,  most  respected  and 
honored  gentlemen  and  ladies,  this  to  be  your 
case  and  disposition',  we  very  gladly  send  you 
our  letters  of  gratitude  and  association,  trusting, 
notwithstanding  our  own  unworthiness,  upon  the 
infinite  merits  of  our  Dying  Saviour  and  His  af- 
flicted Mother,  our  Head  and  Patroness.  We 
do  ]3romise  you  that,  ^during  life  and  after  your 
death,  you  shall  have  a  share  in  all  the  devotions 
and  pious  works  in  the  houses  of  our  society. 

"We  also  hope,  most  honored  and  respected 
gentlemen  and  ladies,  that  we  will  find  a  place 
in  your  holy  performances.  Having  been  in- 
formed of  your  names  and  qualities,  they  are, 
and  shall  be  on  our  records  as  a  blessed  memo- 
rial during  the  existence  of  our  society.  These, 
our  engagements  and  wishes,  we  humbly  request 
our  Reverend  Father  to  communicate  to  you  in 
the  name  of 

"Your  most  humble  servants, 

"  The  Sisters  of  Loretto  Society 

AS  ABOVE. 

"  Done  at  Loretto,  10th  of  January,  1820,  the 
eighth  (year)  of  the  institute."  * 

"  I  would  desire,"  continues  Father  Nerinckx, 
"  all  persons  who,  through  their  good  wishes, 
have  obtained  this  right  of  association,  to  con- 
sider themselves  associates.  It  was  my  desire 
to  send  to  every  one  individually  a  copy  of  these 

*  Copied  literally  from  the  printed  narrative  of  1825. 


'1820.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  439 

-letters  in  the  usual  form,  as  the  old  religious  com- 
munities used  to  do ;  but,  by  a  special  act  of 
liberality  (!)  and  humanity  (!)  of  the  government, 
I  am  deprived  of  that  happiness.  I  trust,  how- 
ever, that  the  benefits  of  this  association  will 
not  suffer  from  it,  since  they  are  out  of  the 
sphere  of  the  government  power." 

Father  Nerinckx  subsequently  gave  an  ac- 
count of  his  success  in  the  following  letter,  the 
only  one  that  reached  Loretto  from  Belgium. 
It  is  one  of  the  few  English  documents  in 
Father  Nerinckx'  handwriting,  and  we  give  it 
as  written  in  all  its  energetic  simplicity  and 
freshness  of  faulty  diction : 

LETTEK  OF  FATHEE  NEEINCKX. 

t 

Mary. 
"  M,  of  November,  1820. 
"  Bear  Mother,  Beloved  Mothers,  and  Sisters  of  the 
Society : 

"  The  peace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  be  with  you 
all! 

"  Your  letter  of  August*  13th  left  Bardstown 
the  19th,  and  was  handed  safe  to  me,  October 
28th,  the  only  one  I  received.  The  Right  Rev. 
Bishop  wrote  twice.  Rev.  Mr.  Chabrat,  who  is 
well,  sends  me  word  middling  regular.  By  these 
letters  I  understood  that  Sister  Apollonia  de- 
parted this  life  and  is  gone  to  heaven.  We 
thank  God  for  his  blessings.  The  more  I  con- 
sider the  world,  the  less   I  doubt  of  the  true 


440  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1820. 

happiness  and  salvation  of  the  Friends  of  Mary. 
0  Blessed  Mother  of  God  !  that  has  afforded  you 
the  means  of  these  double  comforts  ! 

"  To  follow  the  contents  of  your  letter :  I 
thank  you  for  all  the  pious  and  kind  remem- 
brances which  I,  on  my  side,  have  tried  to  keep 
up.  Your  good  wish  for  my  return  is  an  effect 
of  good  nature  and  grace,  but  can  not  profit  you 
much ;  still,  my  superiors  here  advise  me  for  it.  I 
willingly  prepare,  in  the  sixtieth  year  of  m}^  age, 
to  cross  the  seas  again,  to  do  what  I  can,  and  to 
help  you,  if  possible.  My  condition,  as  I  told 
jou  often  beforehand,  could  not  fail,  in  a  country 
now  become  heretic,  and  of  course  filled  with  all 
its  evil  consequences,  to  suffer  mightily  in  its 
undertaking.  Providence,  still,  has  not  entirely 
forsaken  us.  Should  I  have  gotten  nothing  else, 
but  the  old  English  books,  with  some  new  ones,  if 
they  come  on  safe,  they  will  be  worth  my  pains. 
I  have  ready  half  a  dozen  statues,  or  rather  half 
ones,  of  our  Lady,  middling  well  done,  and  some 
more  utensils  for  the  church  ;  some  more  things, 
and  valuable  ones,  are  sent  to  our  Bishop,  yet 
on  the  road,  if  I  do  not  mistake,  for  they  may 
have  arrived  by  this  time. 

"  You  have,  it  seems,  received  none  of  my  let- 
ters ;  yet  I  wrote  to  you  three  times.  I  feel 
sorry  for  your  sickly  company ;  I  beg  them  all 
to  be  of  good  heart  and  receive  these  afflictions 
with  courage,  united  with  body  and  mind  with 
the  Suffering  Jesus  and  the  Sorrowful  Mary.  I 
have  thought,  sometimes,  that  your  dwelling  in 


18120.]         LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  441 

the  basement  under  the  chapel  might  be  against 
your  health;  if  there  is  any  possibility  of  doing 
so,  I  want  you  to  live  in  the  large  building. 

"  I  thank  God  for  the  favors  he  bestows  on 
the  community  and  visitors  through  the  inter- 
cession of  Blessed  St.  Francis  Hieronymo. 
Keep  on  venerating  this  holy  friend  of  God  and 
ours.* 

"A  great  favor  is  just  now  bestowed  upon  the 
whole  Christendom :  We  received  here  a  Breve 
of  the  Holy  Father  announcing  that  the  body  of 
St.  Francis  of  Assisium  (who  is  represented  in 
our  Loretto  chapel,)  has  been  found  with  the 
sacred  stigmata,  whole  and  fresh.  It  had  been 
buried  for  nearly  six  hundred  years,  nor  did  any- 
body know  the  exact  place  where  it  had  been 
hidden.  A  few  months  ago  it  was  found,  after 
fifty-two  days  of  digging  and  searching  for  it, 
under  the  altar  of  the  lower  of  the  three 
churches  of  Assisium,  built  one  above  the  other. 
Favors  and  indulgences  will  be  granted  on  this 
occasion.  Every  christian  wonders  that,  in  a 
time  of  general  apostasy  as  this  is,  this  remark- 
able favor  should  be  granted,  and  they  hope  for 
some  great  event  which  will  turn  to  the  benefit 
of  the  church. 

*Among  the  many  statues  and  pictures  which  Father  Ner- 
inckx  brought  from  Europe  in  1817,  was  one  of  that  saint,  which 
Father  Nerinckx  told  the  sisters  to  place  in  the  infirmary,  the 
inmates  of  which  he  wanted  to  look  upon  St.  Francis  Hieron- 
ymo as  their  patron  and  best  doctor.  Many  cures,  believed  to 
be  supernatural,  were  effected  through  his  intercession,  and  are 
worked  to  this  day. 


442  I^IFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1820'. 

"  The  poor  school  of  my  brother  and  sister  iir 
London  is  improving  fast;  over  one  hundred 
children  attend  it.  They  have  been  much 
pleased  with  the  tidings  from  ours ;  they  keep- 
some  of  our  rules,  and  wish  to  join  with  3^ou  in 
prayers,  good  works,  and  pious  remembrances. 
Several  new  houses  in  this  country  wish  to  do 
the  same.  Some  new  societies  have  been  started 
here,  but,  besides  the  risks  they  run  from  gov- 
ernmental interference,  I  fear  (and  so  do  many 
prudent  men  here,)  that  their  wealthy  and  too 
worldly  fixings  will  make  them  of  but  short  du- 
ration, howsoever  pious  they  appear  to  be. 
Your  ways  of  living  are  stricter  and  poorer,  and 
that  much  more  religious  and  safe  because 
founded  more  on  piety  and  charity. 

"  I  received  letters  from  Rome  concerning 
your  society,  telling  me  that  the  Right  Reverend 
Bishop  of  Kentucky  has  received  ample  in- 
structions upon  the  rules,  some  of  which  they 
wish  to  be  altered.  I  wrote  to  the  Bishop  about 
it,  and  I  expect  he  has  fixed  business.  Be  you 
obedient  and  faithful ;  you  see  how  short  time 
is,  how  serious  the  matter,  and,  withal,  how 
long  blessed  eternity.  May  not  one  of  you  miss 
it !  Your  rules  are  printed  in  London ;  but, 
since  the  answers  from  Rome,  some  will  have  to 
be  altered. 

"  1  hope  Providence  protects  you  in  tem- 
porals, so  as  to  have  first  necessaries ;  with 
these  we  must  be  satisfied.  The  help  I  will 
give,  will  be  of  little  account ;  the  persecution 


1S20.]         LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  44^ 

liere  ruins  me  entirely  ;  but  God  wants  no  means 
of  assistance.  Rev.  Mr.  Abell's  sickness  has 
caused  a  sensible  grief.  I  hope  that,  by  this 
time,  he  is  well  again,  as  I  wish  you  all  to  be. 
I  am  well  myself,  thank  God ! — in  fact,  more  so 
than  I  desire,  for  I  am  growing  heavy,  notwith- 
standing* mv  continual  labors  and  travels  on 
foot.  Rev.  Mr.  Badin  has  the  care  of  two  par- 
ishes in  France  ;  his  return  to  America  is  doubt- 
ful. Rev.  Mr.  Hill,  a  convert  and  now  a  Do- 
minican, comes  from  Rome  with  six  other  Do- 
minicans, and  wishes  to  start  with  me  next 
Spring  for  Kentucky.  We  will  likely  come  to- 
gether shortly  after  Easter,  if  there  be  any  ves- 
sels, so  to  be  with  you'  about  the  end  of  June. 
I  thought  of  coming  before  Winter,  but  my 
well-wishers  desired  me  to  stay,  and  business 
hinders  my  departure.  I  hope  all  our  acquaint- 
ances and  persons  attached  to  our  houses  fare 
well,  and  things  go  on,  if  not  in  grand  style,  at 
least  piously  and  christianly.  Receive  here,  all 
God's  blessings,  my  hearty  wishes  and  true 
marks  of  sincere  affection,  and  love  in  Jesus  and 
Mary. 

"  C.  Neeinckx, 
'"'■  Your  father,  as  you  are  willing  to  call  me,  to  my 
great  confusion. 

"P.  S.    Greet  your  gentlemen   confessors   in 
particular. 

"  Should  the  Bishop  not  have  received  my  let- 
ters, (I  wrote  several  to  him,)  you  let  him  pe- 


444  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERTNCKX.  [1820. 

Tuse  this,  accompanied  with  my  deepest  respect 
for  his  person  and  character. 

"Particular  greeting  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dent; 
to  Mr.  Leak  and  lady ;  to  Mr.  Vincent,  Polly, 
Mr.  Cassel  and  lady,  etc.  Whites  and  blacks, 
to  whom  all  good  things. 

"  I  wrote  you  a  letter  from  Baltimore,  after  I 
had  been  at  the  Visitation ;  one  long  one  from 
the  vessel,  and  a  long  one  from  this  country. 
My  well-wishers  here  I  recommend  to  your 
special  devotions.  Best  things  to  all  the  scholars 
everywhere." 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

1820-1821. 

Father  Nerinckx'  return  to  Kentucky. — How  the  original- 
founders  OF  the  Jesuit  mission  in  Missouri  came  to  the 
United  States. — Sketch  of  the  establishment  of  the  Missouri 
Province. — High  mass  of  thanksgiving  in  Baltimore  Cathedral. 

Ever  fearful  lest  he  should  be  arrested,  and 
see  the  fruits  to  he  reaped  from  this  visit  de- 
stroyed, Father  Nerinckx  moved  about  without 
ostentation,  unknown  to  all  but  his  intimate 
friends.  Without  attracting  too  much  attention 
to  his  movements,  he  gathered  all  the  presents 
or  purchases  he  could  conveniently  carry  along  ; 
but  he  had  to  refuse  a  valuable  library  offered  to- 
him  by  an  aged  pastor,  lest  the  gift  might  put 
the  officials  of  the  government  on  his  track.  It 
was  also  to  prevent  any  such  unwelcome  inter- 
ference that  his  arrangements  for  returning  to- 
the  United  States,  for  the  shipping  of  various- 
objects,  such  as  vestments,  books,  and  the  like,, 
which  he  acquired  by  purchase  or  donation,, 
were  all  effected  through  a  tobacco  merchant  of 
Mechlin,  named  Ketelaer,  who  had  business  con- 
nections in  Antwerp  and  Amsterdam.* 

*The  following  reliable  narrative  has  been  kindly  contributed 
to  our  work  by  Rev.  Walter  H.  Hill,  S.  J.,  of  St.  Louis  Univer- 

(445) 


446  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1820- 

As  we  saw  in  our  last  chapter,  Father  ISTer- 
inckx  on  his  way  to  Europe,  in  1820,  passed  by 
•Georgetown  College,  in  the  District  of  Columbia, 
where  he  met  with  Oliver  Vandevelde,  S.  J.,  a 
young  Belgian,  who,  as  already  remarked,  had 
•accompanied  him  on  his  return  to  the  United 
States,  in   1817.     Among  the  letters  of  which 

sity,  who  gleaned  his  facts  from  conversations  held  at  various 
times  with  the  venerable  Father  Van  Assohe,  and  committed 
them  to  writing.  Fatlier  Van  Assche  retained  a  lively  remem- 
brance of  the  events  here  detailed  and  described  as  told  by  him 
in  1873.  He  died,  whilst  this  work  was  in  jireparation,  June  26, 
1877,  from  the  effects  of  a  stroke  of  paralysis  which  he  experi- 
•enced,  just  a  month  before,  on  his  way  to  a  sick  call  at  St.  Stan- 
islaus novitiate,  Missouri,  in  his  seventy-eighth  year.  Mr.  Van 
Assche  was  ordained  a  priest  in  1827,  and  assumed,  two  years 
later,  the  regular  charge  of  the  congregation  of  St.  Ferdinand, 
at  the  village  of  Florissant.  This  congregation  had  been  for  a 
year  in  charge  of  the  Trappists,  who  gave  it  up  in  1810,  remov- 
ing to  Monk's  Mound,  on  Cahokia  Creek,  Illinois.  When  the 
monks  left  Illinois  in  1813,  to  return  to  Europe,  Rev.  Du- 
nand,  a  member  of  their  order,  remained  in  Missouri  and  had 
charge  of  the  congregation  at  Florissant  for  some  seven  years, 
residing  a  part  of  that  time  in  the  village.  His  congregation 
was  afterward  under  the  care  of  Rev.  Mr.  De  Lacroix,  from  1820 
to  1823,  during  which  time  he  built  the  present  brick  church  of 
that  place.  In  1823,  Mr.  De  Lacroix  made  over  the  church  to 
the  Jesuit  Fathers,  under  whose  charge  it  has  remained  till  the 
present  time.  In  1S23,  Father  Van  Assche  began  to  reside  at 
Florissant.  He  lived  a  couple  of  years  at  Portage  des  Sioux; 
but,  by  advice  of  his  physicians,  he  returned  to  Florissant  in 
1840,  and,  with  the  exception  of  three  years'  residence  at  St. 
■Charles,  he  made  it  his  home  till  his  death.  Father  Van  Assche 
lived  fifty-four  years  of  his  long  life  in  Missouri ;  and,  except 
two  short  visits,  one  to  Cincinnati  and  one  to  Chicago,  he  never, 
in  that  time,  went  beyond  St.  Louis  and  St.  Charles  counties. 
He  was  a  man  of  God,  and,  full  of  days  and  full  of  merit,  he  ex- 
pired calmly  in  the  arms  of  his  brethren.  May  he  rest  in 
peace  I 


1S21.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  447 

Father  Nerinckx  was  made  the  bearer  to  Eu- 
rope, was  one  from  Mr.  Vandevelde,  of  George- 
town College,  to  Judoeus  Francis  Van  Assche, 
.a  youth  who  was  then  a  student  in  the  Seminary 
of  Mechlin.  Mr.  Vandevelde  had  formerly  been 
the  tutor  of  young  Van  Assche,  and,  on  his  de- 
parture for  the  United  States  in  1817,  his  pupil 
would  have  accompanied  him,  hiul  not  his  youth 
and  the  lack  of  means  rendered  such  a  step  im- 
practicable at  that  time.  The  desire  of  joining 
his  friend  in  America,  however,  the  ardent 
youth  never  renounced,  though  he  divulged  it 
to  no  one  previously  to  the  arrival  of  Father 
jN'erinckx. 

Father  ISTerinckx  delivered  this  letter  from 
Mr.  Vandevelde  for  young  Van  Assche  to  the 
parents  of  the  youth  ;  they  dwelt  in  the  village 
of  St.  Amand,  about  four  leagues  from  Mechlin. 
On  reading  this  letter,  addressed  to  their  son, 
they  at  first  thought  of  suppressing  it  and  keep- 
ing its  contents  secret.  But,  on  reflection,  the 
father  changed  his  mind,  visited  his  son  at 
Mechlin,  delivered  to  him  the  communication 
from  his  friend  in  America,  remarking,  however, 
that  "  there  was  no  good  sense  in  his  thinking  of 
going  to  America;  that  there  was  plenty  of 
good  to  be  done  at  home ;  that  Mr.  Vandevelde, 
who  was  striving  to  entice  him  away,  was  of  a 
roving  disposition,  and  had  tried  to  induce  a 
cousin  of  young  Van  Assche  to  go  as  a  mission- 
ary to  England,"  etc.  To  all  these  arguments, 
that  were  prompted  by  the  natural  affection  of  a 


448  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1820- 

father,  the  son  said  little  in  reply ;  but  he  kept 
the  letter,  and  read,  and  reread  it  with  avidity. 
The  letter  informed  him  that  if  he  still  had  a 
mind  of  coming  to  America,  Father  Nerinckx' 
return  from  Europe,  in  the  following  year,  would 
furnish  him  a  favorable  opportunity  to  accom- 
plish  his    purpose.     This   communication  from 
Mr.    Vandevelde   was    handed    to    young   Van 
Assche  about  the  end  of  July,  in  1820.     At  tha 
beginning  of  the  following  vacation,  he  deter- 
mined to  find  Father  JSTerinckx,  if  possible,  and, 
w^ith   this   intention,  he  visited    Rev.    Mr.  Yer 
Loo,    a   pious    priest,    who   resided   about    two- 
leagues  from  Mechlin,  and  was  supposed  to  know 
the   hiding-place   of  the   illustrious   missionary 
from  America.    He  was  accompanied  to  Rev.  Mr^ 
Ver  Loo's  house  by  a  young  fellow-seminarian 
named  John  B.  Elet.     Rev,  Mr.  Ver  Loo  had 
once  been  a  professor  at  the  Seminary  of  Mech- 
lin, and  was  subsequently  the  president,  and  to 
him  young   Elet  was  much  attached.     On   the 
way  to  the  residence    of  the    holy  priest.  Van 
Assche  revealed  to  Elet  his  design  of  going  to 
America   in   company  with    Father   Nerinckx ;. 
young  Elet  declared  without  hesitation  that  he, 
too,  would  go  along  with  him.     His  friend,  Van 
Assche,  put   little  reliance,  at   the   time,  on    a 
resoltition  which  seemed  to  be  so  inconsiderately 
taken  ;  yet  subsequent  events  proved  it  to  have 
been  no  merely  passing  notion.     Rev.  j\Ir,  Ver 
Loo  could  not  give  the  information  sought  for, 
but  he  accompanied  the  young  visitors  to   the- 


1821.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  449 

pastor  of  a  neighboring  church,  who  told  them 
that  Father  Nerinckx  was,  perhaps,  with  his 
aunt,  who  was  superioress  of  a  hospital  in  Mech- 
lin. Van  Assche  visited  alone  the  hospital  in 
Mechlin,  carrying  with  him,  as  a  passport,  the- 
letter  from  Mr.  Vandevelde,  S,  J.,  addressed  un- 
der care  of  Rev.  Charles  Nerinckx,  and  inquired 
of  the  superioress  if  her  reverend  nephew  was 
then  her  guest.  She  answered  that  he  could,, 
most  likely,  be  found  at  the  hospital  in  Dender- 
monde,  over  which  another  of  his  aunts  was 
superioress.  Dendermonde  is  about  two  leagues 
from  St.  Am  and,  wdiere  the  parents  of  young 
Van  Assche  resided.  He  went  home  to  his  pa- 
rents at  St.  Amand,  but  he  still  said  nothing  tO' 
them  at  all  concerning  his  intention  of  going  to- 
America.  After  some  days  spent  at  home,  he 
went  to  the  hospital  at  Dendermonde,  with  his- 
letter  having  Father  Nerinckx'  name  super- 
scribed as  its  bearer  from  America,  and  asked 
for  the  superioress.  When  she  presented  her- 
self, he  stated  that  he  desired  to  see  Father  J^er- 
inckx,  who,  he  had  been  informed,  was  with  her, 
handing  her,  at  the  same  time,  the  letter.  She 
examined  the  superscription  carefully,  and,  with- 
out making  any  reply,  went  out  of  the  parlor 
with  the  letter.  Father  Nerinckx  entered  a  few 
minutes  afterward.  When  young  Van  Assche 
made  known  his  desire  of  accompanying  the  holy 
missionary  to  America,  he  said  in  answer :  "I 
can  do  nothing  for  you.     My  situation  is  very 


450  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1820- 

precarious.  I  am  suspected  by  the  government 
authorities,  and  I  must  be  exceedingly  cautious, 
■even  to  escape  arrest  and  imprisonment.  How- 
ever, if  you  are  resolved  on  going  to  America, 
it  is  not  for  me  to  prevent  your  doing  so ;  the 
vessel  in  which  I  came  will  probably  start  on 
its  return  trip  next  May  "  (1821).  Young  Van 
Assche  determined  at  once  in  his  own  mind  to 
2:0  with  Father  Nerinckx  to  America  on  this 
vessel. 

When  classes  were  resumed  at  the  Semi- 
nary of  Mechlin  in  September  of  1820,  young 
Van  Assche  and  his  friend  Elet  returned  to 
j)rosecute  their  studies.  Van  Assche  said  noth- 
ing for  a  time  to  any  other  fellow-seminarian  of 
Father  Nerinckx,  or  of  his  own  purpose  of  going 
to  America,  but  he  thought  anxiously  of  ditfer- 
ent  schemes  for  procuring  the  means  necessary 
to  accomplish  his  object.  He  did  not  board  at 
the  Seminary,  but  at  a  private  house  near  the 
great  Seminary;  for,  at  that  time,  the  number 
of  students  was  so  great  that  the  Seminary  was 
not  sufficiently  capacious  to  lodge  all  of  them. 
There  were  three  seminarians  who  boarded  at 
the  same  house  with  Van  Assche,  and,  during 
the  course  of  the  Autumn,  he  manifested  to 
them  his  intention  of  going  to  America  with 
Father  Nerinckx,  but  he  confessed  his  embar- 
rassment with  regard  to  the  method  of  obtaining 
the  money  which  would  be  necessary  for  effect, 
ing  his  aim.  One  of  the  companions  in  the 
boardino-house — a  Mr.  Van  Loo — said  to  him  : 


1821.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CPIARLES  NERIXCKX.  451 

"  If  you  are  in  earnest,  I  can  tell  you  how  to 
procure  the  means  for  the  journey."  He  pro- 
ceeded to  inform  him  that  Mr.  De  Neff,  of  Turn- 
hout,  would  surely  furnish  him  with  what  he 
needed,  if  rightly  asked  to  do  so. 

This  Mr.  De  Neif  had  been  a.  linen-draper, 
and  amassed  a  fortune.  He  was  a  cultivated 
scholar,  and  was,  withal,  a  man  of  solid  piety. 
At  the  death  of  his  wife,  he  discontinued  all 
mercantile  pursuits,  and,  as  he  had  no  responsi- 
bility after  the  demise  of  his  worthy  spouse,  but 
one  child — a  daughter — and  she  was  amply  pro- 
vided for,  he  thought  seriously  of  becoming  a 
2)riest.  This  well-meant  project,  however,  he 
Avas  induced,  by  prudent  advisers,  to  abandon. 
He  shortly  afterward  devoted  a  portion  of  his 
fortune  to  founding  and  maintaining  a  college  at 
Turnhout,*    in   which   young    men    of    limited 

*  Rev.  Peter  J.  Aernoudt,  S.  J.,  (known  by  the  English  form  of 
liis  name — Arnold,)  who  wrote  the  "  Following  of  the  Sacred 
Heart  of  Jesus,"  was  a  scholar  of  St.  Joseph's  College,  Turnhout, 
then  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Peter  De  Neff,  in  1832.  Mr,  De 
NefF  held  the  direction  of  that  college  for  many  years  longer, 
when  he  confided  it  to  the  Fathers  of  the  Society  of  Jesus, 

This  good  and  pious  man  did  all  in  his  power  to  educate  his 
young  pupils  in  the  fear  and  love  of  God.  Most  of  his  scholars 
hecam-e  zealous  j^riests  or  devoted  religious.  His  greatest  joy  was 
to  have  some  devote  themselves  to  the  American  missions. 
Hence  his  love  and  veneration  for  Rev.  Father  Nerinckx. 

Father  Aernoudt  was  born  in  Moere,  West  Flanders,  Belgium, 
in  1811.  He  fii'st  took  private  lessons  with  a  priest  of  his  native 
village,  went  to  the  College  of  Thielt  in  1830,  and  thence  to  Mr 
De  NefF's  college  in  1832.  He  there  completed  his  studies,  and 
entered  the  Society  of  Jesus,  December  31,  1835.  He  left  for 
America,  September  24,  183f'),  landed  in  New  York,  November 
16,  and  reached  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  December  2,  of  the  same 


452  I^IfE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [18'20- 

means  might  acquire  the  preparatory  education 
requisite  for  entering  the  seminaries,  and,  in 
this  college,  he  himself  taught  a  regular  class.* 
Mr.  De  JNTeff  subsequently  rendered  aid  to  indi- 
gent missions  in  the  United  States,  and  he  was 
a  special  benefactor  to  his  Belgian  countrymen 
who  first  established  the  Jesuit  mission  of  Mis- 
souri, in  1823.  The  Mr.  Van  Loo  above  men- 
tioned had  been  educated  at  Mr.  De  JN'eff' s  col- 
lege, and  hence  the  confidence  with  which  he  as- 
sured his  young  friend  of  relief  from  his  diffi- 
culties by  this  munificent  gentleman. 

Young  Elet  had  as  room-mate  at  his  boarding- 
house  a  fellow-student,  named  John  B.  Smedts, 
to  whom  he  communicated  the  agreement  made 
by  himself  and  Van  Assche  to  go  with  Father 

year.  He  made  his  novitiate  at  St.  Stanislaus,  taught  in  several 
colleges,  and  became  a  priest  in  ]84o.  His  great  devotion  to  the 
Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus,  intensified  during  a  dangerous  sickness 
from  which  he  recovered,  led  him  to  write  his  "  Following  of  the 
Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus,"  completed  in  1846.  The  manuscript, 
approved  by  his  superiors  in  Rome,  was  mislaid  and  lost  forfifteen 
years;  hence  the  long  delay  of  its  publication  Father  Desmet 
and  Right  Rev.  J,  B.  Purcell,  Archbishop  of  Cincinnati,  had  a 
great  veneration  for  the  man  of  (jod.  Father  Aernoudt  made 
his  solemn  vows  in  1854;  he  lived  twenty-nine  years  in  the 
United  States,  and  died  at  St.  Louis  University,  July  26,  1865. — 
('.  P.  Maks. 

*  It  is  said  that,  when  Mr.  De  Neff  was  compelled  by  duty  or 
illness  to  absent  himself  from  the  class-room,  his  accomplished 
daughter  Mary  took  his  place,  and  that  she  fulfilled  the  office  of 
temporary  professor,  both  with  much  credit  to  herself,  and  with 
great  profit  to  her  disciples.  She  led  the  life  of  a  pious  maiden 
in  the  world,  performing  magnificent  works  of  charity,  in  imita- 
tion of  her  generous  fatiier,  and  died  at  an  advanced  age  a  fe" 
years  ago. 


1821.1  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  453 

Nerinckx  to  America  in  the  following  Spring. 
Young  Smedts  expressed  at  once  his  resolution 
also  to  be  one  of  the  party.  With  this  new  ac- 
cession, Van  Assche  was  in  due  time  made  ac- 
quainted, and  these  two.  Van  Assche  and 
Smedts,  filled  with  pleasant  expectations,  visited 
Mr.  De  Neif,  at  Turnhout,  bearing  with  them  a 
letter  of  introduction  from  Mr.  Van  Loo,  a  for- 
mer pupil  of  Mr.  De  Xeff' s  college.  They  Avere 
received  kindly  by  Mr.  De  Neff,  who  commended 
their  undertaking ;  he  assured  them  also  that 
but  for  the  want  of  available  money,  his  ready 
means  having  been  exhausted  by  heavy  outlays 
recently  made  in  building,  he  would,  with  much 
pleasure  to  himself,  furnish  them  all  they  needed 
for  the  journey.  As  it  was  he  gave  them  some 
money,  and  wrote  for  them  letters  of  introduc- 
tion to  priests  and  presidents  of  seminaries  in 
Holland,  where,  he  felt  confident,  they  would 
succeed  in  obtaining  the  requisite  assistance ; 
and,  meanwhile,  he  invited  them  to  make  his 
house  their  home  whenever  they  happened  to  be 
at  Turnhout,  or  in  its  vicinity.  After  some  re- 
spite, Messrs.  Van  Assche  and  Smedts  started 
to  Holland,  to  which  they  traveled  all  the  way 
on  foot,  going  directly  to  Bois-le-Duc.  At  the 
Seminary  of  Bois-le-Duc  the}^  were  received 
cordially  by  the  president.  Rev.  Mr.  Van  Gills, 
who  spoke  in  their  behalf  to  the  professors  and 
the  seminarians,  and  he  also  gave  them  letters 
to  some  pastors  of  neighboring  churches  from 
whom,  he  judged,  they  might  expect  aid. 


454  ^IFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1820- 

A  few  months  later,  Messrs.  Van  Assche  and 
Elet  went  over  the  same  grounds  in  quest  of 
means  for  their  proposed  trip  to  America,  Init 
the  amount  collected  by  the  youthful  mendicants 
during  both  these  journeys,  when  all  taken  to- 
gether, was  not  adequate  to  their  wants.  They 
saw  the  necessity  of  resorting  to  other  plans  for 
supplying  the  deficiency,  and  with  this  view, 
they  resolved  to  sell  their  books,  furniture, 
pianos,  watches,  and  the  like.  But  there  was  a 
difficulty  in  the  Avay  of  this  business  transaction, 
arisino-  from  the  circumstance  that  all  was  to 
be  done  secretly,  and  only  with  friends  who 
^vere  trustworthy ;  for,  it  must  be  observed,  that 
even  their  parents  were  wholly  ignorant  of  their 
intended  journey  to  America  with  Father  Ner- 
inckx,  or  that  they  thought  of  taking  such  a 
step  at  all.  They  succeeded  in  selling,  or  rather 
in  pawning,  their  movable  wares  and  chattels 
for  about  one-half  their  value,  but  only  by  giv- 
ing their  assurance  that  the  amount  advanced 
on  these  objects  would  ultimately  be  refunded 
by  their  parents. 

As  already  observed,  there  was  at  that  time 
in  Mechlin  a  wealthy  tobacco-merchant  named 
Ketelaer,  who  had  business  connections  in  Ant- 
werp and  Amsterdam,  and  these  merchants  were 
fully  posted  as  to  all  the  arrangements  made  by 
the  ship  on  which  Father  Nerinckx  had  come  to 
Belgium,  and  on  which  he  was  to  return  to 
America.  Mr.  Ketelaer  took  peculiar  pleasure  in 
giving  the  youthful*  adventurers  all  information 


1821]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  455 

and  assistance,  and  with  him  they  deposited 
their  money,  and  stored  the  higgage  which  they 
were  to  carry  with  them  to  America.  Hence- 
forth, besides  giving  them  all  necessary  direc- 
tions, he  kept  them  informed  as  to  the  progress 
of  all  preparations  made  by  the  vessel  for  its  de- 
parture. 

At  this  period  of  the  undertaking,  Mr.  Peter 
J.  Verhaegen  got  knowledge  of  it  and  joined  the 
trio  ;  and  a  little  later,  Mr.  Felix  L.  Verreydt, 
Mr.  De  Maillet,  Mr.  Van  Horsick,  who  were 
seminarians,  and  a  Rev.  Mr.  Yeulman,  who, 
though  still  in  the  Seminary,  had  been  ordained 
priest,  all  asked  to  be  associated  in  the  enter- 
prise ;  and  finally,  at  a  still  later  date,  Peter  J. 
Desmet  was  added  to  their  number.  Each  of 
the  new  recruits  made  his  own  arrangements  to 
provide  means  for  the  journey,  the  original  trio 
having  already  completed  all  necessary  prepara- 
tions of  this  kind. 

The  vessel,  instead  of  starting  from  Amster- 
dam in  May,  as  at  first  announced,  delayed  its 
departure  till  August.  Meanwhile,  the  prospect- 
ive missionaries  to  a  foreign  land  went  on  with 
their  scholastic  employments  at  the  Seminary  as 
usual,  keeping  their  proceedings  secret  from  all 
save  a  few  trusted  friends,  but  holding  them- 
selves in  readiness  to  move  at  a  moment's  warn- 
ing. About  the  middle  of  July  they  were  noti- 
fied by  Mr.  Ketelaer  to  make  ready,  as  the  ves- 
sel would  sail  from  Amsterdam  in  August. 
They  started   immediately  by   private   convey- 


456  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1S20- 

ance,  in  different  parties,*  and  proceeded,  by 
the  directions  given,  to  a  rendezvous  in  Ant- 
werp, whence  they  were  conveyed  to  Amster- 
dam ;  they  there  put  up  at  the  same  hotel,  and 
they  were  instructed  to  await  at  that  place  for 
further  orders.  P.  J.  Desmet,  who  had  but 
lately  joined  the  part}^,  had  borrowed  from  a 
friend  of  his  family  the  money  which  he  needed 
for  the  journey,  and  this  friend  had  written  to 
the  young  man's  father,  informing  him  that  he 
had  advanced  money  to  his  son  for  a  trip  to 
America.  The  father  instantly  dispatched  an 
elder  son  in  pursuit  of  the  truant,  who  was 
speedily  traced  to  his  lodgings  in  Amsterdam. 
Youno"  Desmet's  brother  did  not  believe  him 
called  to  the  priesthood,  and  imputed  his  action 
to  the  waywardness  and  love  of  novelty  which 
are  peculiar  to  youth,  and  accordingly  he  urged 
him  to  return  home  to  his  parents.  When  he 
perceived  that  his  young  brother  was  immovable 
in  his  purpose,  and  that  further  dissuasion  was 
useless,  he  yielded,  and  furnished  him  with  all 
the  requisite  means,  recommending  him,  how- 
ever, to  write  home  for  money  when  his  mind 
was  changed,  and  he  wished  to  return  to  Bel- 
gium. 

It  having  become  known  to  their  friends   in 

*They  mot  the  King,  William  I.,  returning  in  iiis  carriage 
from  the  Hague;  they  saluted  him,  even  bidding  him  good- 
bye; but,  fortunately,  the  full  import  of  this  innocent  boldness 
was  not  understood  by  him.  William  I.  was  King  of  the  Neth- 
erlands, and,  consequently,  Belgium  Avas  svibject  to  the  govern- 
ment of  Holland  at  that  time. 


1821.]         LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  457 

Antwerp  that  their  movements  were  no  longer 
secret,  it  was  feared,  by  those  colleagues  beyond 
the  borders  of  Holland,  that  steps  might  be 
taken  by  the  civil  authorities  to  have  the  whole 
band  arrested  and  countermarched  back  to  Bel- 
o-ium.  In  order  to  avert  this  disastrous  issue 
to  all  that  had  been  hitherto  accomplished,  the 
young  men  were  placed  aboard  a  schooner  and 
hurried  away  to  the  Texal,  a  small  island  which 
is  situated  a  few  miles  off  the  coast  of  North 
Holland.  On  this  island  dwelt  the  families  of 
numerous  pilots  who  steered  ocean  vessels  into 
the  harbor  of  Amsterdam,  and  back  again  into 
the  open  sea  at  their  departure  from  port.  This 
maneuver  of  the  party  was  effected  clandes- 
tinely, and  was  known  only  to  a  few  reliable 
friends  whose  assistance  was  needed  to  shield 
them  from  danger.  They  were  detained  on  the 
Texal  about  two  weeks  before  the  American  ves- 
sel, the  "Columbus,"  was  ready  to  stand  out  to 
sea.  All  arrangements  had  been  made  by  Mr. 
Ketelaer  and  other  friends  for  receiving  on 
board  at  the  island  the  whole  band,  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  elude  the  authorities. 

Father  Nerinckx  had  also  come  upon  the  is- 
land, accompanied  by  Charles  Gilbert,*  from 
London,  and  Jacobus  Vanrysselberghe,  a   Bel- 

*  Mr.  Gilbert  was  a  convert  to  the  church.  He  was  an  En- 
glishman, born  in  London.  He  was  a  carpenter  by  trade,  and 
remained  with  the  Loretto  Sisters  till  his  death,  about  Easter, 
1867.     He  died  at  Mt.  St.  Benedict,  in  Louisville,  Ky. 


458  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1820- 

gian,  who  intended  to  become  lay  brothers  at 
Loretto,  Kentucky,  but  his  arrival  was,  for  some 
days,  unknown  to  ■  the  young  men.  When  they 
became  aware  of  his  presence,  Mr.  Verhaegen 
sought  him  out,  and  politely  called  upon  him. 
This  exhibition  of  his  respect  procured  both  for 
himself  and  companions  a  severe  reprimand  for 
their  imprudence  in  wandering  publicly  about  the 
island,  and  talking  boisterously,  quite  heedless  of 
their  perilous  condition.  But  to  avoid  inoppor- 
tune cheerfulness,  or  to  be  thoughtful  about  the 
possible  evils  of  noise  and  loquacity  when  danger 
is  reported  to  be  imminent,  is  not  an  ordinary 
employment  of  youthful  faculties  ;  and  hence  it  is 
not  to  be  wondered  at  that  they  had  explored 
the  whole  island  before  the  end  of  the  first  day, 
and  that  one  of  their  recreations  was  to  drill  as 
soldiers  upon  the  lawns,  in  order  to  be  better 
fitted  for  their  doom,  in  case  they  were  dis- 
covered and  pressed  into  the  service,  by  the  gov- 
ernment authorities,  as  recruits  for  the  national 
army. 

There  were  two  churches  on  the  island,  and 
the  young  men  publicly  attended  divine  service 
in  a  body  at  each  of  them,  their  boldness  caus- 
ing no  little  annoyance  to  the  saintly,  but  rigid 
Father  Nerinckx. 

Whilst  returning  to  their  boarding-house  from 
the  more  distant  of  the  two  churches,  on  August 
15th,  they  were  informed,  by  a  pilot  who  met 
them,  that  the  ship  for  America  was  nearing  the 
island,  so  that  they  should  prepare  quickly  to  go 


1821.]  LIFE  OF  EEV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  451> 

on  board.  They  hastened  to  get  from  their 
hotel  all  parcels,  and  went  npon  the  pilot-boat 
to  cross  over  the  shoal  water,  beyond  which  the 
often  mentioned  ship  for  America  rode  at  an- 
chor. When  they  entered  the  pilot-boat,  they 
soon  ascertained  that  Father  IN'erinckx  had  al- 
ready boarded  it,  and  was  concealed  at  the  end 
of  the  vessel.  After  the  boat  was  loosed  from 
its  moorings  and  was  hurrying  ont  over  the 
breakers,  Father  ISTerinckx  stepped  forth  from  his 
hiding-place,  to  reconnoiter  the  situation,  and  he 
again  reproved  his  young  companions  sharply 
for  their  incautious  behavior  whilst  on  the  is- 
land, which,  he  assured  them,  had  exposed  both 
him  and  them  to  the  risk  of  government  interfer- 
ence with  their  departure  from  the  country. 

It  will  be  noticed  in  what  is  thus  far  narrated, 
that  Father  Nerinckx,  from  the  beginning,  was 
careful  not  to  commit  himself  by  any  explicit 
engagements  or  promises,  which,  if  known  to 
the  civil  authorities,  could  in  any  wise  compro- 
mise him.  The  opposition  of  the  government  to 
young  men's  emigrating  from  Belgium  was 
aimed,  as  will  be  readily  inferred,  to  prevent 
the  evasion  of  military  duty  at  home.  So  secret 
and  circumspect  had  the  venerable  missionary 
been,  that  though  Mr.  Van  Assche  had  learned 
from  him  the  name  of  the  vessel  on  which  he 
would  return  to  America,  the  time  when  it  would 
sail,  and  was  put  in  communication  with  Kete- 
laer.  Father  Nerinckx'  agent,  yet  not  one  of  the 
young   men   had   ever  even   seen   him,    except 


460  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.        [1820- 

Messrs.  Van  Assche  and  Verhaegen,  till  they 
listened  to  his  austere,  yet  prudent  and  fatherly 
monitions  on  the  pilot-boat.  They  got  safe 
aboard  the  Columbus,  and  were  speedily  out 
upon  the  high  sea.  As  their  vessel  floated  on- 
ward, they  seemed  to  haA^e  cast  no  "  lingering, 
longing  looks  "  back  upon  the  shores  which  most 
of  them  were  never  to  see  again.  It  was  too 
magnanimous  a  sacrifice  of  home,  and  native 
land,  and  loved  ones  whom  they  were  leaving 
behind,  to  be  expressed  by  the  tears  of  sensible 
aifection. 

All  escaped  sea-sickness,  except  Messrs.  Elet 
-and  Desmet,  who  suffered  much,  especially 
w^hilst  in  the  English  Channel.  In  their  dis- 
tress, courage  failed  them,  and  they  several 
times  petitioned  the  captain  to  put  them  ashore, 
if  such  a  thing  were  possible ;  but  the  hardy 
seaman  merely  laughed  at  them.  Their  ailment 
ceased  in  a  few  days,  and  the  rest  of  the  voyage 
was  without  any  unusual  occurrence.  Father 
Nerinckx  spent  the  day  according  to  exact  rule: 
He  arose  each  morning  at  the  same  hour,  and 
then,  in  a  devout  posture  on  his  chair  near  his 
bed,  with  downcast  eyes  and  body  motionless,  he 
was,  for  two  or  three  hours,  absorbed  in  prayer. 
About  sunset  every  evening,  he  would  stand  on 
the  prow  of  the  vessel  for  a  considerable  time  in 
prayer.  He  was  kind  and  fatherly  to  his  youth- 
ful companions  for  the  American  missions,  but 
exacted  of  them  regularity  in  spiritual  exercises, 
and  he  strived,  with  moderate  success,  to  enforce 


1821.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  461 

the  gravity  of  deportment  and  demureness  of 
manners,  which  were  so  marked  in  himself. 

Father  Nerinckx  rarely  smiled,  though  his 
countenance  was  benignant.  He  sometimes 
talked  in  the  English  language  with  the  cap- 
tain, w^io  showed  him  special  attention  and 
kindness.  His  conversation  with  the  young- 
men  was  almost  exclusively  on  spiritual  sub- 
jects, but  was  not  protracted  beyond  a  few  min- 
utes at  a  time.  Yet  his  equanimity  and  self- 
possession  jdelded  on  one  occasion  to  human 
impulses:  Rev,  Mr.  Veulman  was  reciting  his 
office  in  the  cabin,  when  the  captain  of  the  ves- 
sel and  a  Jew  began  to  inspect  a  pistol  near  by 
him.  The  young  clergyman  took  the  fancy 
that  their  talk  in  English  was  about  him,  and 
that  they  were  preparing  to  shoot  him  ;  being 
seized  with  sudden  terror,  he  ran  quite  frantic 
up  to  that  part  of  the  deck  where  Father  Ner- 
inckx  was,  and  was  followed  by  the  captain, 
whose  countenance  showed  him  to  be  much 
amused.  When  the  cause  of  the  occurrence 
and  his  rapid  movements  were  explained  to 
Father  Nerinckx,  their  ludicrous  character, 
with  the  frightened  looks  and  the  trepidation  of 
the  young  man,  completely  conquered  the  severe 
gravity  of  the  holy  old  priest,  and  he  laughed 
convulsively,  to  the  surprise  even  of  the  sailors. 
Several  times  afterward,  when  asked,  in  the 
presence  of  the  young  men,  by  inquiring  friends 
for  some  favorable  testimony  to  their  good  be- 
havior on  sea,  it  afforded  him  an  opportunity  for 


462  LIFE  OF  EEV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.        .[1820- 

a  little  innocent  pleasantry,  quite  characteristic 
of  his  simplicity  and  good  nature,  and  he  would 
answer:  "I  know  nothing  of  them,  except  that 
Mr.  Veulman  can  run  very  fast."  Thus  the 
agile  Mr.  Veulman's  swift-footed  exploit  was 
never  forgotten  by  his  companions,  even  when 
afterward  weighed  down  with  the  burden  of 
more  than  three  score  and  ten  years. 

After  a  pleasant  voyage  of  just  thirty-nine 
days,  they  landed  at  Philadelphia,  on  Sunday 
afternoon,  September  23,  1821.  The  wharf  was 
crowded  with  people,  white  and  black,  the  latter 
complexion  affording  a  striking  novelty  for  the 
curiosity  of  the  ingenuous  young  travelers.  A 
number  of  gentlemen  came  on  board,  making 
A^arious  inquiries  concerning  the  passage  over 
the  sea,  the  captain,  his  treatment  of  the  passen- 
gers, about  Belgium,  etc.  Father  Nerinckx  and 
the  two  candidates  for  Loretto  landed  and  re- 
mained for  a  time  in  Philadelphia.  The  young 
Belo-ians  lod^-ed  durino-  Sundav  nio-ht  on  the 
ship,  and  on  the  following  morning  they  were 
transferred  to  a  steamboat  for  Baltimore,  reach- 
ing that  place  on  the  same  day. 

The  archiepiscopal  See  of  Baltimore  was  then 
filled  by  Archbishop  Marechal.  He  invited  the 
young  men  to  remain  with  him,  and  go  to  the 
Seminary ;  but  they  were  not  to  be  diverted 
from  their  purpose,  which,  from  the  beginning, 
was  to  join  Mr.  Vandevelde  at  the  Georgetown 
•College.  Of  the  crowd,  however,  Rev.  Mr. 
Veulman  remained  in  Baltimore ;  also  Mr.  Van 


1821.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  463 

Horsick,  who,  tliougii  he  desired  to  go  to  George- 
town, 3^et,  from  the  fact  that  he  owed  a  sum  of 
money  to  his  brother,  was  ineligible  to  the  so- 
ciety, and  was  compelled  to  remain  in  Balti- 
more. The  remaining  seven,  namely,  Messrs. 
Van  Assche,  Verhaegen,  Elet,  Smedts,  De  Smet, 
Verreydt,  and  De  Maillet,  proceeded  by  car- 
riages on  to  Georgetown  College.  The  Provincial 
of  the  Maryland  province  at  that  time  was 
Father  Anthony  Kohl  man ;  the  master  of  novices 
at  White  Marsh  *  was  Father  Charles  Yan 
Q,uickenborne,  a  native  of.  Ghent,  in  Belgium. 
After  some  opportune  repose  and  recreation, 
the  postulants  were  sent  to  the  novitiate  at 
White  Marsh ;  they  began  their  regular  proba- 
tion on  the  6th  of  October,  1821.  Father  Ner- 
inckx  visited  them  at  White  Marsh  before 
€ontinuing  his  journey  to  Kentuck}^  His  ad- 
vice to  them  while  on  the  sea,  had  been  to 
prefer  becoming  members  of  the  Society  of 
Jesus,  and  his  impressive  words  helped  to  con- 
firm them  in  their  resolution  of  2:oin2:  to  Georire- 
town.  It  was  not  a  small  gratification  for  the 
saintly  old  missionary  now  to  see  those  noble 
youths  actually  clad  in  the  garb  of  Jesuit 
novices.  They  loved  him  for  his  holiness  and  his 
unfeigned  charity.  And  Father  Nerinckx  was 
a  man  of  God,  who  left  some  impress  of  his  deep 

*  The  place  was  so  named  in  commemoration  of  the  illustrious 
Father  White,  S  J.,  who  accompanied  the  first  colony  of  En- 
glish Catholics,  who,  leaving  their  country  for  conscience's  sake, 
settled  in  Maryland,  in  1634. 


464  L^FE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.    [1820-21. 

sanctit}^  on  all,  even  those  with  whom  he  was^ 
only  transiently  connected. 

Father  Nerinckx  sang  Pligh  Mass  of  thanks- 
giving in  the  Cathedral  of  Baltimore,  a  day  of 
thanksgiving  having  been  appointed  at  that 
time  by  the  municipal  authorities.  Bishop  En- 
gland speaks  of  the  pleasure  it  afforded  him  to 
hear  that  Mass,  and  to  preach  on  the  occasion. 
He  says  :  "  The  good  Doctor  Tessier,  the  vener- 
able Superior  of  St.  Sulpice,  in  the  Seminary  in 
that  city,  was  kind  enough  to  introduce  the 
celebrant  and  the  preacher  to  each  other,  and  to 
bring  both  to  partake  of  his  and  Rev.  Doctor 
Damphoux'  hospitality.  That  day  shall  not  be 
blotted  from  the  Bishop's  memory  ;  nor  shall 
his  good  friend,  Mr.  Nerinckx,  be  forgotten  by 
Mm  at  the  altar."* 

*"  Catholic  Miscellany,"  December  8,  1824. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

1821-1877. 

The  Society  of  Jesxis! — Establishment  of  the  Western  Mis- 
sions.— The  Missouri  mission  organized. — Novitiate  at  Flor- 
issant.—Indian  missions. — The  Pottawatomies  of  Michigan. — 
Father  Desmet  and  companions. — Various  establishments  of- 
THE  Missouri  Province. 

If  the  Jesuit  province  of  Missouri  has  grown 
to  be  numerous  and  influential,  and  is  doing 
niuch  to  maintain  and  extend  genuine  religion 
in  the  West,  surely  some  share  of  the  glory  of 
this  work  is  due  to  Father  Nerinckx,  under 
whose  fatherly  protection  its  founders  all  came 
to  America.  His  impressive  advice  to  them 
was  to  persevere  in  the  purpose  for  which  they 
left  their  native  land,  and  devote  themselves  to 
the  Indian  missions,  if  the  chance  to  do  so 
should  offer ;  nor  were  these  solemn  words  of 
the  saintly  missionary  ever  forgotten  by  them. 

Our  readers  will  naturally  be  pleased  to  learn 
how  that  undertaking,  in  which  Father  Ner- 
inckx  encouraged  them  to  engage,  finally  suc- 
ceeded, and  we  devote  the  present  chapter  to 
the  glorious  work,  which  none  in  the  United 
States  ignore,  but  which,  if  we  are  not  misin- 

(465) 


466  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1821- 

formed,  none  had  as  yet  the  honor  to  recount  in 
print. 

Two  years  after  the  arrival  of  Father  Ner- 
inckx  and  companions  at  Baltimore,  Bishop  Du- 
hourg,  of  Louisiana,  went  to  Georgetown  to  re- 
quest, from  the  Provincial  of  the  Maryland 
province,  a  colony  of  Jesuits  for  the  evangeliza- 
tion of  the  Indians  in  the  State  of  Missouri. 
Father  Van  Quickenborne  and  Father  Timmer- 
mans,  with  Messrs.  Van  Assche,  Desmet,  Ver- 
haegen,  Verreydt,  Smedts,  Elet,  and  brothers 
Peter  Be  Meyer  and  Henry  Rysselmans,  of- 
fered themselves  for  the  missions  in  the  Far 
West.  They  left  White  Marsh  about  the  mid- 
dle of  April,  1823;  went  to  Baltimore,  where 
they  procured  wagons  for  their  luggage,  and 
started  on  their  journey  to  Wheeling,  West 
Virginia.  They  went  by  way  of  Frederick, 
Maryland ;  Conewago,  Pennsylvania,  and  Cum- 
l)erland,  Maryland ;  thence  across  the  Alleghany 
Mountains,  reaching  Wheeling  after  a  journey 
•of  about  two  weeks.  They  were  here  enter- 
tained for  a  few  days  by  Mr.  Thompson,  the 
kind  gentleman  whom  Father  Nerinckx  visited 
in  1820,  and  whose  daughter  subsequently  be- 
■came  a  distinguished  member  of  the  Sacred 
Heart  congregation. 

Our  travelers  here  procured  two  flat-boats, 
which  they  lashed  together,  placing  upon  one  of 
them  a  wagon,  some  negroes  who  accompanied 
them,  their  stock  of  provisions  for  the  journey, 
etc. ;  the  reverend  gentlemen,  with  their  library 


1877.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERIXCKX.  467 

and  various  articles  of  church  furniture,  being 
in  the  other.  After  a  trip  down  the  riv'er  of 
some  twelve  days,  without  striking  incidents,  they 
reached  Louisville,  where  they  met  Rev.  Father 
ISTerinckx ;  a  "  Falls  pilot "  was  engaged  to  get 
their  boats  safely  over  the  falls,  and,  in  this  trip 
down  the  rapids.  Rev.  Van  Assche  accompanied 
him.  They  went  down  the  Ohio  to  Shawneetown, 
where  they  disembarked,  and  sending  their  bag- 
gage around  to  St.  Louis  by  steamboat,  they 
journeyed  across  the  land  to  the  same  destina- 
tion. 

They  reached  St.  Louis,  Ma}''  30,  1823,  and 
on  the  evening  of  the  same  day.  Father  Van 
Quickenborne  rode  on  horseback  out  to  Floris- 
sant, accompanied  by  Father  De  La  Croix.  Th;^ 
present  novitiate  farm,  or  at  least  that  part  of 
it  on  which  the  houses  stand,  had  been  donated 
by  Bishop  Dubourg  to  the  Jesuits.  They  took 
possession  of  the  place,  and  began  at  once  to 
clear  land  around  the  dwelling  in  order  to  make 
a  garden.  On  July  31st,  they  began  to  dig  the 
cellar  for  a  dwelling,  which,  in  the  style  of  that 
day,  was  a  log  cabin.  Father  De  I^a  Croix  made 
over  his  church  at  Florissant  to  Father  Van 
Quickenborne  immediately  after  the  new-comers 
were  settled  at  the  novitiate  o/  St.  Stanislaus. 

The  aim  of  Father  Van  Quickenborne  and  his 
companions  in  first  coming  to  the  far  West, 
was  the  devoting  of  themselves  to  the  Indian 
missions,  and  this  was  a  ruling  thought  in  their 
minds  for  several  years.     Father  Desmet,  who 


468  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1S2I- 

afterward  became  so  illustrious  for  what  he  ac- 
complished among  the  aborigines  of  the  Rocky- 
Mountains  and  on  the  Pacific  Slope,  manifested, 
from  his  first  arrival  in  Missouri,  a  deep  inter- 
est in  all  things  pertaining  to  this  singular  race. 
Shortly  after  the  party  settled  at  Florissant,  he 
excavated  Indian  mounds  on  the  summit  of  the 
Charbonniere,  a  bluff,  three  hundred  feet  high, 
overlooking  the  Missouri  river  at  a  mile's  dis- 
tance from  the  novitiate,  and  so  called  because 
it  rests  on  a  bed  of  stone  coal.  He  exhumed 
therefrom  an  Indian  skeleton,  which  he  kept  for 
a  time  in  his  room.  One  year  after  reaching 
Florissant,  Father  Van  Quickenborne  erected  a 
large  frame  house,  two  and  a  half  stories  high, 
in  order  to  open  a  school  for  Indian  boys,  the 
government  of  the  United  States  agreeing  to  al- 
low some  com^^ensation  for  each  pupil.  They 
began  the  school  with  fourteen  Indian  boys, 
mostly  of  the  Cherokee  tribe,  a  band  of  which 
was  then  still  lingering  on  the  prairies  beyond 
the  Missouri  river;  and  a  little  later,  some 
white  families  from  St.  Louis  sent  their  sons  to 
be  educated  at  St.  Stanislaus'  novitiate. 

It  was  soon  discovered  by  the  little  mission- 
ary colony  that  Missouri  was  a  field  in  which 
much  could  be  done  for  the  religious  welfare  of 
the  white  population,  then  pouring  into  its  fertile 
plains  and  growing  towns,  from  the  more  eastern 
States.  Accordingly,  when  the  young  men  were 
ordained  priests,  in  1827,  they  took  full  charge 
of  the  congregations  in  St.  CUiarles  county,  in 


1877.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  469 

addition  to  Florissant,  Fathers  Felix  Verreydt 
and  J.  B.  Smedts  residing  in  the  town  of  St. 
Charles  ;  besides,  they  went  on  missionary  ex- 
-cursions  into  Illinois,  the  interior  counties  of  Mis- 
souri, and  also  occasionally  visiting  the  Indian 
tribes  beyond  the  western  boundary  of  the  State. 
This  Jesuit  mission  in  Missouri  was  subject  to 
the  Provincial  of  Maryland  till  the  year  1831, 
from  which  time  it  was  governed  by  its  own  su- 
perior. The  first  two  novices  received  were- 
both  natives  of  Kentucky,  namely,  James  Yates 
and  George  Miles.  They  entered  the  novitiate 
at  Florissant  in  1827.  From  the  year  1831,  the 
number  of  members  increased  rapidly,  as  did 
also  the  extent  and  wants  of  the  mission.  It 
was  made  a  vice-province  in  December,  1839 ; 
and  it  was  raised  to  the  rank  of  a  province  in 
1864. 

Before  Bishop  Dubourg  left  Missouri,  resign- 
ing his  title  as  Bishop  of  Uj^per  and  Lower 
Louisiana,  he  made  over  to  Father  Van  Quicken- 
borne  a  small  piece  of  land  near  the  town  limits 
of  St.  Louis,  which  had  been  given  by  Jeremiah 
Connor,  toward  founding  a  college.  Father  Van 
Quickenborne  purchased  some  adjacent  property, 
and,  in  1828,  he  began  the  erection  of  a  college 
building,  just  at  the  edge  of  the  town,  and  front- 
ing on  the  St.  Charles  road.  The  St.  Louis 
College  began  its  first  session  on  jS'ovember  2, 
1829;  and,  in  February,  1833,  it  was  incorpo- 
rated by  a  special  act  of  the  State  legislature, 
under  the  name  of  "  The  St.  Louis  University," 


470  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1821- 

liavmg  Rev.  P.  J.  Verhaegen  as  its  first  presi- 
dent. From  1829  to  the  present  time,  the  in- 
stitution has  been  uniformly  prosperous,  proving 
to  be,  on  the  whole,  the  most  successful  and  in- 
fluential of  our  catholic  colleges  in  the  Western 
States. 

In  1836,  Father  Van  Quickenborne  estab- 
lished a  residence  among  the  Ivickapoo  Indians, 
at  a  point  on  the  Missouri  river  eight  miles 
above  the  site  on  which  now  stands  Leavenworth 
City,  intending  there  to  found  a  permanent 
church,  with  schools  for  this  tribe.  But,  in  1838, 
the  fierce  Kickapoos,  excited  by  the  lies  and  the 
wild  eloquence  of  a  young  chieftain  who  pub- 
lished himself  among  them  as  a  prophet, 
deserted  the  mission,  wandering  along  the 
western  border  of  Missouri,  where  tlie}^  subse- 
quently became  notorious  as  drunkards  and 
horse-thieves. 

In  1838,  Father  Verreydt  and  Father  Desmet 
began  a  missionary  chapel  and  residence  at 
Council  Blutfs,around  which  collected  a  portion 
of  the  wild  Pottawatomies,  distinguished  by  the 
name  "prairie  Indians,"  from  the  civilized 
tribe  then  about  to  be  removed  from  Michigan. 
Some  roving  bands  belonging  to  other  tribes 
also  gathered  around  the  fathers  at  this  place ; 
but  when  the  wild  Pottawatomies  went  oif  to 
rejoin  their  tribe,  in  1841,  the  mission  at  Council 
Bluffs  was  given  up.  It  was  then  that  Father 
Desmet  began  his  celebrated  missionar}^  jour- 
neys through  the  Rocky  Mountains,  where  he 


1877.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  XERINCKX.  471 

and  his  zealous  companions  accomplished  so- 
much  good  for  the  savage  tribes  that  roamed 
through  that  region.  For  a  history  of  these 
missions  in  the  Rocky  Mountains  the  reader  is 
referred  to  the  published  writings  of  Father 
Desniet,  and  to  the  forthcoming  biography  of  this 
famous  Indian  missionary. 

Early  in  the  present  century,  the  Pottawat- 
omie tribe  of  Indians  dwelt  mainly  in  the  terri- 
tory between  Lake  Michigan  and  Lake  Huron, 
where  they  had  above  fifty  villages,  some  of  them 
situated  as  far  south  as  the  St.  Joseph's  river  and 
northern  Indiana.  The  wigwam  of  the  great 
chief,  Pokegan,  whose  descendants  still  remain 
in  Michigan,  was  often  visited  by  Father  Rich- 
ard, from  Detroit,  and  Father  Badin,  from  Ken- 
tucky, who  went  to  dwell  among  these  Indians  in 
1822.  Father  Deseilles,  after  giving  all  his  patri- 
mony to  this  mission,  came  over  from  Belgium 
in  1833  to  spend  his  remaining  life  with  these 
Indians  in  the  wilds  of  Michigan.  At  the  death 
of  this  worthy  missionary,  his  place  was  taken 
by  Father  Petit,  a  secular  priest  from  the  dio- 
cese of  Vincennes,  Indiana.  In  1837,  Michigan 
was  admitted  into  the  Union  as  a  State,  and  the 
government  of  the  United  States  then  deter- 
mined to  move  this  tribe  of  Indians  to  terri- 
torial domains  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
general  government.  The  place  selected  for 
them  was  a  fertile  district  through  which  comes 
Sugar  Creek,  a  head  branch  of  Osage  river,  and 
just   beyond   the   western   border  of  Missouri. 


472  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.        [1821- 

The  tribe,  accompanied  by  Father  Petit,  reached 
their  new  home  in  the  Summer  of  1838.  The 
liardships  and  privations  of  such  a  life  soon 
prostrated  Father  Petit;  he  started  home  to 
Vincennes  for  relief,  and  got  as  far  as  the  St. 
Louis  University,  where  he  died,  in  January, 
1839.  He  requested  the  Jesuit  Fathers  to  take 
charge  of  his  mission,  and  they  consented  to  do 
so.  Father  Christian  Hoecken,  with  several 
companions,  went  immediately  to  Sugar  Creek. 
Church  and  schools  were  erected,  the  govern- 
ment furnishing  money  for  the  purpose,  agree- 
ably to  a  promise  made  to  the  Indians  before 
their  departure  from  Michigan.  In  July,  1841, 
four  ladies  of  the  Sacred  Heart  Society,  with 
Madame  Lucilla  Mathevon  a'fe  Superior,  reached 
the  mission  and  took  charge  of  the  school  for  girls. 
The  tribe  was  again  moved  in  1847,  and  this  time 
their  destination  was  a  district  just  west  of  the 
place  where  now  stands  Topeka,  the  capital  of 
Kansas,  and  on  the  Kansas  or  Kaw  river.  By 
mistake,  they  stopped  on  the  lands  of  the  Shaw- 
nees,  and  did  not  reach  the  site  of  the  present 
St.  Mary's  Mission  till  the  evening  of  Septem- 
ber 9,  1848.  Owing  principally,  under  God,  to 
the  i^ersevering  zeal  and  ability  of  Father  Mau- 
ritius Gaitland,  who  spent  twent^^-nine  years  of 
his  life  among  the  Pottawatomies,  three-fourths 
of  the  tribe  became  christians.  After  they  sold 
their  lands,  and  the  Kansas  Pacific  Railroad 
was  built  through  tlieir  reservation,  in  1866, 
these  Indians  began  to  disperse,  some  going  to 


1877.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  473 

the  Canadian  river  toward  the  mountains, 
some  to  the  Indian  Territory,  some  to  Wiscon- 
sin, some  remaining  on  a  section  of  their  Kan- 
sas reservation ;  so  that  this  interesting  tribe  is 
now  rapidly  losing  even  its  autonomy,  and  its 
beautiful  language  is  also  passing  away.*  At 
St.  Mary's  Mission  there  are  now  two  flourish- 
ing institutions — St.  Mary's  College  and  the  Sa- 
cred Heart  Academy,  which  were  chartered  un- 
der the  laws  of  Kansas,  in  December,  1869. 

In  1847,  Father  Schoenmakers  and  Father 
Bax,  with  three  lay  brothers,  went  to  take 
charo-e  of  the  Osao-e  Indians  at  their  reservation 
on  the  banks  of  the  Neosho  river  in  south- 
eastern Kansas. t  Church  and  schools  were 
erected,  the  girl  children  being  committed  to 
the  care  of  Loretto  Sisters,  as  narrated  in 
another  chapter  of  this  volume.  In  1869  and 
1870,  the  Osage  tribe  were  removed  to  the  In- 
dian Territory.  About  that  time,  white  settlers 
commenced  to  pour  into  this  portion  of  Kansas 
in  great  numbers ;  among  whom  w^ere  many 
catholics  from  Kentucky  and  the  Eastern  States. 
Fathers  Philip  Colleton  and  Paul  Ponziglione 
made  frequent  excursions  for  more  than  a  hun- 
dred miles  distance,  and  in  all  directions,  hunt- 
ing up  the  scattered  catholic  settlers,  and,  when 

*  Father  Gaitland  wrote  an  elaborate  dictionary  and  grammar 
of  this  Indian  dialect,  in  which  he  became  an  adept. 

j  Father  Van  Quickenborne  visited  this  place  as  early  as 
1829;  but  no  permanent  residence  was  there  established  before 
the  year  1847. 


474  I'll^^E  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1821- 

possible,  causing  them  to  collect  in  the  same 
neighborhoods.  They  built  many  churches, 
and  formed  a  number  of  congregations  which 
now  have  resident  priests ;  as  was  also  done  hy 
Father  Du  Mortier  in  the  region  around  St. 
Mary's  Mission. 

Both  at  St.  Mary's  Mission  and  the  Osage 
Mission  the  general  government  paid  sevent}^- 
iive  dollars  annually  for  each  pupil  in  the  schools. 
By  means  of  this  allowance  in  money,  together 
with  what  could  be  raised  on  the  land,  the  mis- 
sions were  well  sustained  ;  they  were  protected 
by  the  military,  the  gentlemanly  officers  fre- 
quently encouraging  them  by  kind  visits  ;  and 
all  was  harmonious  till  the  advent  of  white 
settlers,  and  the  inauguration  of  the  "  Quaker 
policy,"  brought  about  a  new  state  of  things. 
At  both  places  the  institutions  in  charge  of  the 
fathers  and  those  of  the  sisters  were  supported 
out  of  the  common  fund,  as  one  family ;  but 
when  the  Indians  departed  from  the  missions,  a 
division  of  their  possessions  was  made  in  a  man- 
ner that  was  mutually  satisfactory.  At  both 
places  there  are  now  large  churches  with  numer- 
ous white  congregations,  as  well  as  flourishing 
institutions,  male  and  female,  for  the  education 
of  white  youths. 

In  1838,  the  Jesuit  fathers  of  Missouri  took 
charge  of  St.  Charles  College,  Grand  Coteau, 
Louisiana,  having  been  requested  to  do  so  by  the 
Provincial  of  Lyons,  in  France,  to  whom  that 
mission  pertained.     A  full  faculty  of  professors 


1877.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  475 

was  sent  to  that  institution  by  Father  Ver- 
haegen,  the  Vice-Provincial  of  Missouri,  and  it 
was  retained  by  them  till  1848,  when  the  fathers 
of  New  Orleans  were  able  to  take  it  off  their 
hands.  During  that  time  the  College  of  St. 
Charles  was  very  flourishing,  as  it  now  con- 
tinues to  be. 

In  1837,  Father  Helias  began  missionary  ex- 
cursions among  the  German  settlers  in  the 
interior  counties  of  Missouri.  He  founded  West- 
phalia, in  Osage  county,  and  resided  there 
several  years  ;  at  a  later  date,  other  fathers 
were  sent  to  his  assistance.  They  established 
numerous  stations  and  churches,  some  of  which 
now  have  resident  priests,  while  others  are  still 
attended  by  the  fathers  residing  at  Washington, 
in  Franklin  county,  and  those  at  Westphalia, 
in  Osage  county.  Father  Helias,  a  native  of 
Ghent,  in  Belgium,  spent  nearly  forty  years  in 
those  missions,  and  died  in  Cole  county,  on 
August  11,  1874,  aged  seventy-eight  years. 

In  1840,  the  fathers  from  Missouri  accepted 
the  Athenaeum,  in  Cincinnati,  at  the  request 
of  Archbishop  Purcell ;  but  they  changed  its 
name  to  the  St.  Xavier  College,  and  Rev.  J.  B. 
Elet  was  its  first  president.  As  the  college 
grounds  were  found  to  be  too  limited,  and  it  being 
in  the  middle  of  the  city,  they  discontinued  it  as  a 
boarding-school  in  1854.  Since  that  time  it  has 
grown  as  a  day  school,  till  it  has  now  become, 
both  as  to  its  course  of  studies  and  the  number 
of  its  students,  one  of  the  leading  colleges  in 


476  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1821- 

the  West.  There  is  attached  to  the  collesre  a 
parochial  church,  with  a  congregation  of  fifteen 
thousand  souls,  and  numerously  attended  parish 
schools. 

On  April  14,  1845,  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Kenrick 
laid  the  corner-stone  of  St.  Joseph's  (German) 
church,  at  the  corner  of  Tenth  and  Biddle 
streets,  St.  Louis — Father  James  Oliver  Van- 
develde  then  being  Vice-Provincial.  When  the 
church  and  dwelling  were  completed,  German 
fathers  from  the  St.  Louis  University  went  to 
reside  there,  with  Father  Hof  bauer  as  superior. 
The  congregation  now  contains  nearly  ten  thou- 
sand souls,  and  the  parish  schools  are  regularly 
attended  by  more  than  a  thousand  children. 

In  July,  1848,  the  Jesuit  fathers  of  Missouri, 
at  the  instance  of  the  venerable  Bishop  Flaget, 
took  possession  of  St.  Joseph's  College,  Bards- 
town,  Kentucky — Father  P.  J.  Verhaegen  being 
the  first  j^resident  under  its  new  government. 
A  number  of  the  faculty  appointed  to  take  con- 
trol of  the  college  left  St.  Louis  on  July  24th  of 
that  year.  When  they  reached  Louisville  they 
went  to  pay  their  respects  to  the  saintly  old 
Bishop.  On  being  introduced  into  his  room,  he 
rose  from  his  chair,  and,  tottering  under  the 
burden  of  more  than  four  score  of  years,  he  af- 
fectionately embraced  each  one,  saying :  "  The 
Jesuit  fathers  left  my  diocese  for  New  York  two 
years  ago ;  and  I  have  prayed  much  during 
those  two  years  that  I  might  live  to  see  this 
day  of  their  return  to  me  ;  "  then,  with  faltering 


1877.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NEKINCKX.  477 

voice,  and  quite  overcome  with  emotion,  lie  be- 
gan the  canticle  of  Simeon :  "  Nunc  dimittis 
servum  timm,  Domine,  secundum  verbum  tuum  in 
pace^  The  college  had  numerous  students, 
most  of  whom  were  from  the  Southern  States ; 
and  it  enjoyed  uninterrupted  prosperity,  till 
closed  on  account  of  the  civil  war,  in  the  year 
1861.  Classes  were  never  again  organized  in 
the  college  by  the  Jesuit  fathers,  and  they  aban- 
doned the  place  altogether,  in  December,  1868, 
donating  to  the  Bishop  of  the  diocese  all  the  real 
estate  owned  by  them  in  Bardstown,  and  giving 
back  the  college  itself  free  of  debt.  A  college 
was  commenced  on  Fourth  street,  Louisville, 
Ky.,  in  the  year  1849,  by  the  Jesuit  fathers 
from  Missouri,  but  it  was  closed  in  1857  ;  yet 
it  had  always  been  attended  by  a  large  number 
of  intelligent  pupils. 

In  1855,  St.  Gall's  church,  in  Milwaukee,  was 
begun  by  Father  De  Coen,  S.  J.,  the  nephew  of 
Rev.  Charles  Nerinckx.  The  fathers  now  have 
two  churches  in  that  city,  with  excellent  schools 
attached  to  St.  Gall's  church. 

In  the  year  1857,  Father  Damen  erected  a 
frame  church  on  the  open  prairie  immediately 
west  of  Chicago.  The  spot  is  now  at  the  center 
of  the  city,  and  the  Holy  Family  church  has  a 
congregation  of  not  less  than  twenty-five  thou- 
sand souls,  with  from  four  to  six  thousand  chil- 
dren attending  its  schools  annually.  The  church, 
and  the  magnificent  building  of  the  St.  Ignatius 
College  adjacent  to  it,  constitute   an  establish- 


478  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1821- 

ment  that  possesses  imposing  grandeur.  The 
St.  Ignatius  College  be^-an  its  first  session  in 
September,  1869 ;  it  already  has  a  full  course 
of  studies,  with  over  two  hundred  pupils.  From 
this  institution  a  number  of  fathers  go  forth  each 
year,  under  the  general  direction  of  Father 
Damen,  to  give  missions  in  different  portions  of 
the  United  States,  especially  in  the  large  cities 
and  manufacturing  towns.  By  means  of  these 
missions,  annually  many  thousands  are  induced 
to  begin  a  regular  and  orderly  life,  in  accord- 
ance with  the  laws  of  God  and  the  rules  of  His 
church. 

On  June  3,  1877,  the  fathers  of  the  Missouri 
province  took  the  old  cathedral,  in  Detroit, 
Michigan,  at  the  request  of  Bishop  Borgess,  who 
generously  made  a  gift  of  the  property ;  and 
they  began  a  preparatory  college  at  the  same 
place  in  the  following  September — Father  J.  B. 
Miege,  formerly  Yicar  Apostolic  of  Kansas,  be- 
ing the  superior.  Finally,  arrangements  are 
now  nearly  perfected  for  their  beginning  a  col- 
lege also  in  Omaha,  Nebraska. 

The  foregoing  brief  historical  summary  of 
chief  events  will  serve  to  convey  some  notion 
of  the  results  which  owe  their  origin  to  the  lit- 
tle band  that  accompanied  Father  Nerinckx 
from  Belgium  to  the  United  States,  in  1821,  the 
prime  mover  among  them  being  Francis  Judo- 
■cus  Van  Assche,  of  St.  Amand,  that  came  to 
Missouri  in  1823,  in  accordance  with  an  invita- 
tion given  them  by  Bishop  Dubourg.     Of  those 


1877.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  479 

who  came  to  Missouri  at  that  time,  all  have  now 
passed  away  except  Father  Felix  Verreydt, 
aged  eighty,  and  Brother  Peter  De  Meyer,  who 
is  in  the  eighty-sixth  year  of  his  age.  The  suc- 
cessors of  the  original  little  colon}^  that  began 
near  the  Missouri  river,  seventeen  miles  north- 
west of  St.  Louis,  now  number  more  than  three 
hundred  members,  who  are  engaged  in  various 
works  of  religion  throughout  most  of  the  West- 
ern and  North  western  States,  and  in  nearly  all 
the  great  cities  of  the  West. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

1821-1824. 

From  Baltimore  to  Kentucky. — The  Maryland  postulants. — 
Sister  Alexaxdrtna  Doran's  wonderful  vocation. — Mount 
Mary's. — Establishment  of  Bethania  convent. — Election  of  a 
Dear  Mother. — Establishment  of  Mount  Carmel,  Bethlehem, 
Perry  county,  Missouri,  and  Mount  Olivet. — Holy  Cross 
CHURCH. — Project  of  a  Negro  sisterhood. 

Father  Nerinckx  remained  about  two  weeks 
in  Baltimore,  and,  in  the  meantime,  seven 
young  ladies  presented  themselves  as  candidates 
for  the  Loretto  sisterhood.  They  had  seen  a 
picture  of  the  sisters'  humble  dwelling  and  its 
surroundings,  and  they  selected  the  Society  of 
the  Friends  of  Mary  in  preference  to  other  con- 
gregations, on  account  of  ,its  poverty ;  to  select 
souls.  Lady  Poverty  has  lost  none  of  the  attrac- 
tions which  made  the  seraphic  St.  Francis  fall  in 
love  with  her !  Father  Xerinckx  received  them 
kindly,  and  took  great  interest  in  their  religious^ 
education  ;  he  handed  them  a  copy  of  the  rules 
to  learn  by  heart,  and  gave  them  instructions 
twice   a   day  for  a   whole   week.*     The   young 

*  For  the  details  about   the  postulants  from  Maryland,  we  are 
indebted  to  Sister  Eulalia  Kelly,  one  of  their  number,  who  still 
(480) 


1821-24.]    LIFE  OF  REV.  CHAELES  NERINCKX.  481 

ladies  were :  Misses  Mary  Madden,  Catharine 
A.  Kelly,  Bridget  S.  Kelly,  Petronella  Doran, 
Alice  Cloney,  Margaret  McSorly,  and  Mary 
McSorly,  Miss  Mary  A.  Carney  had  come  over 
with  Father  Nerinckx  from  England.  While 
making  preparations  in  Baltimore  for  the  jour- 
ney to  Kentucky,  many  sumptuous  dinners  were 
given  to  the  company ;  one  at  the  house  of  Mr. 
Owen  McManus,  and  the  last  one  by  the  saintly 
Father  Moranville,  pastor  of  St.  Patrick's 
church.* 

The  eight  new  candidates  set  out  for  Loretto 
in  a  stage,  on  the  5th  of  JN^ovember,  1821.  Be- 
sides the  young  postulants,  the  party  consisted 
of  Father  ]\^erinckx  and  the  two  young  men  who^ 
intended  to  join  the  new  Brotherhood  of  Loretto. 
The  moment  the  stage  moved,  Father  jN^erinckx 
made  the  sign  of  the  cross,  and  said :   "All  say 

zealously  performs,  at  Loretto,  Kentucky,  the  duties  of  a  mem- 
ber of  the  community,  which  she  took  upon  herself  fifty-six 
years  ago. 

* "  Father  Nerinckx,  Brother  Charles,  and  Mr.  Thos.  Kelly 
were  also  guests  at  Father  Moranville's.  The  last  of  many 
courses  at  table  was  a  loaf  of  corn-bread,  but  such  delicious  corn- 
bread  was  never  before  eaten,  with  white  grapes  from  France, 
and  wines.  When  Father  Nerinckx  saw  the  corn-bread,  he 
smiled.  Father  Moranville  said :  '  I  have  ordered  the  corn- 
bread  in  compliment  to  the  young  ladies  who  are  going  to  Ken- 
tucky, to  show  them  what  kind  of  bread  they  will  have  to  eat 
when  they  get  there.'  Another  smile  from  Father  Nerinckx, 
who  replied:  'Yes;  but  the  Friends  of  Mary  at  the  Foot  of  the 
Cross,  living  in  the  wilds  of  Kentucky,  eat  their  corn-bread 
without  salt,  and  they  leave  in  it  the  good  bran!'"  (Reminis- 
cences of  Sister  E .) 


482  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1821- 

the  beads,  first;  then  read  and  pray;  but  you 
are  not  allowed  to  talk  on  the  road."  He  was 
.strictly  obeyed,  and  from  that  time  the  young 
girls  lived  under  conventual  rules.  The  weather 
was  ve^-y  cold,  the  roads  almost  impassable,  and 
■our  travelers  reached  Pittsburg  after  a  tiresome 
.and  difficult  journey  of  eight  days,  having 
walked  all  the  way  over  the  mountains.  In 
Pittsburg,  they  were  kindly  received  by  the  pas- 
tor, Father  McGruire,  and  the  catholics  of  that 
city,  and  they  remained  a  week,  whilst  a  flat- 
boat  was  being  built  to  take  them  down  the 
Ohio.  The  water  being  very  high,  they  only 
reached  Louisville  on  the  7th  of  December,  but 
they  had  a  very  pleasant  time  on  the  river. 

Having  formed  into  a  little  community,  they 
observed  all  the  rules  of  the  Mother-house, 
Loretto:  rose  up  early  in  the  morning,  had 
prayers  and  meditation  in  common,  kept  silence, 
took  their  meals,  and  observed  the  recreation 
time,  just  like  religious  of  long  standing. 
Father  Nerinckx  frequently  observed  to  them 
that  their  boat  was  a  floating  little  paradise. 
He  gave  them  instructions  twice  a  day,  and 
never  tired  preaching  charity.  On  one  occasion 
.a  young  lady  who  joined  the  little  community  in 
Pittsburg,  exclaimed,  after  an  instruction: 
"  Well !  if  my  mother  were  at  the  door,  I  would 
not  speak  to  her!  "  Another,  who  died  later  in 
the  odor  of  sanctity,  replied:  "If  my  mother 
were  here,  I  would  fly  to  her,  press  her  to  my 
heart,  and   kiss  her  a  thousand   times !  "     The 


1824.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  483 

latter,  indeed,  thoroughly  understood  the  true 
love  of  God,  who,  in  bidding  us  to  leave  father 
and  mother,  brothers  and  sisters,  for  His  sake, 
does  not  command  us  to  crush  all  aifections  of 
the  heart,  but  elevates,  purifies,  hence  intensi- 
ties them,  beca.use  consecrated  to  Him.  True 
piety  and  disdain  of  the  world  are  not  against 
nature,  but  above  it;  and  the  deluded  child, 
who  had  uttered  the  intemjDorate  speech,  soon 
experienced  how  little  she  had  of  the  true  spirit 
of  solid  piety.  Shortly  after  her  arrival  at  Lo- 
retto  she  returned  home,  under  the  pretext  that 
the  Loretto  rules  were  not  sufficiently  austere. 

"When  our  loved  j^astor,"  writes  Sister 
Eulalia  in  her  Reminiscences,  "  Father  Timothy 
O'Brien,  of  happy  memory,  wrote  to  us  from 
Baltimore,  that  Father  Nerinckx  had  arrived 
from  Europe,  was  then  in  that  city,  and  required 
us  to  join  him  on  the  29th  of  October,  he  requested 
lis  to  bring  with  us  Miss  Petronella  Doran,  who 
resided  about  twenty  miles  from  our  home.  So, 
Mother  Josephine  *  and  her  brother  went  to  im- 
part the  glad  tidings  to  the  young  lady,  and 
bring  her  to  our  house,  thinking,  of  course,  her 
parents  and  sisters  were  in  the  secret  of  her 
pious  intentions.  But  not  so ;  they  knew  noth- 
ing about  it.  They  were  both  surprised  and 
angry  to  learn  that  their  daughter  had  the  in- 
tention of  leaving  them,  and,  after  much  debate, 
her  mother,  who  was  not  a  catholic,  though  she 

*One  of  the  }^oung  Ladies,  later  Superior-General  of  the  So- 
ciety, called  ill  religion  Mother  Josephine. 


484  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [IS21- 

attended  church,  declared  she  should  not  go. 
They  first  scolded  her,  then  coaxed  her,  cried 
over  her,  often  pressing  her  to  their  bosom,  and 
kissing  her  with  all  the  aflPection  of  the  fondest 
of  parents ;  thus,  they  tried  every  means  to 
shake  her  resolution  and  at  the  same  time  pacify 
her.  She  was  seventeen  years  of  age,  was  firm 
in  her  determination,  and  could  not  be  over- 
come ;  but  finally,  being  so  often  reminded  of  all 
they  had  done  and  suffered  for  her,  she  thought 
within  herself :  'Yes;  I  would  be  ungrateful  to 
leave  my  good  parents  thus ;  and  yet  my  every 
thought  is  for  Loretto,  to  join  those  dear,  good 
sisters.  But  I  can  not,  I  must  not  go.'  Mother 
Josephine  and  her  brother  returned  home  the 
next  day,  while  the  Doran  famil}^  sat  scolding 
and  caressing  by  turns,  wdiich  they  continued 
till  eleven  o'clock  at  night,  when  all  retired  to 
rest. 

"  But  our  Petronella  went  to  prayer  almost 
heart-broken.*  She  had  not  been  long  on  her 
knees,  when  the  room  was  filled  with  a  bright 
light — to  use  her  own  words,  '  a  light  ten  thou- 
sand times  brighter  than  the  sun,' — and  she  saw 

*  I  trust  that  the  following  narrative  will  not  detract  from  the 
veracity  of  the  work.  In  these  days  of  skepticism,  it  has  become 
the  fashion  to  disbelieve  the  supernatural;  but  "  God  is  wonder- 
.ful  in  his  Saints,"  and  all  Saints  are  not  canonized.  The  whole 
life  of  Sister  Alexandrina  impressed  the  sister  who  comniuiiicates 
this  occurrence  to  us,  with  the  truth  of  what  she  told  her  to 
hi've  happened,  and  her  humility  seemed  to  preclude  all  hallu- 
cination. Father  Nerinckx  was  no  enthusiast,  and,  after  due  in- 
vestigation and  careful  examination  into  all  the  circumstances, 
he  believed  the  vision  to  have  actually  taken  place. 


1824.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  485 

three  beautiful  ladies  coming  up  to  lier.  The 
middle  one  was  clad  with  all  the  brilliancy  of 
heaven.  She  gazed  on  the  prostrate  and  now 
penitent  lady ;  then,  in  a  chiding,  bitter  tone, 
said :  '  Yes,  3^ou  think  your  mother  has  done  so 
much  for  you  that  you  can  not  leave  her !  Look 
at  my  Son ;  see  what  He  has  done  and  suffered 
for  you ! '  She  looked  in  the  direction  desig- 
nated by  the  finger  of  the  sj^eaker  (the  Blessed 
Virgin,  of  course),  and,  oh  the  sight !  It  chills 
me  to  write  it :  Our  Lord  on  the  cross,  in  his 
bitter  agony,  his  eyes  suffused  with  blood,  and 
looking  intently  on  her,  while  writhing  with 
pain !  Petronella  fell  prostrate  and  senseless. 
She  knew  not  how  long  she  remained  thus ;  but 
when  she  recovered  all  was  dark,  and  she  was 
alone.  She  rose  up,  took  one  dress,  wrapped  it 
in  a  handkerchief,  put  on  her  bonnet,  went  to 
the  room  of  her  parents,  and  having  gained 
the  door,  she  said  in  a  loud  voice :  '  I  am  gone  ; 
good-bye ! '  Her  parents  were  not  asleep,  but 
they  attached  no  importance  to  her  words. 
Taking  the  road  to  the  church,  Petronella 
walked  twenty  miles  alone  through  the  dark 
night,  reaching  the  church  just  at  daybreak. 
She  then  inquired  the  way  to  our  house,  where 
•she  arrived  at  sunrise,  and  related  her  story, 
at  which  we  all  wondered.  My  mother  supplied 
her  with  all  needful  clothing ;  and  my  father 
took  her  to  Baltimore  with  Mother  Josephine 
and  myself,  and  related  to  Father  Nerinckx 
her    whole    history :    how    she    left    home   for 


486  LIFE  OF  KEV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1821- 

the  sake  of  going  to  Loretto,  and  of  her  travel- 
ing to  Baltimore  under  his  special  protection. 
Father  Nerinckx  was  delighted  with  the  narra-- 
tive,  every  word  of  which  he  believed,  after  hav- 
ing carefully  examined  Petronella  on  the  subject. 
He  then  took  special  charge  of  her,  considering 
her  as  fruit  already  ripe  for  heaven,  a  soul  in 
whose  beauty  the  Celestial  King  was  greatly 
delighted. 

"  While  Petronella  was  at  our  house,  one  of 
the  children  came  in,  and  said  Mr.  IN".  Cane 
was  at  the  front  gate.  This  gentleman  was  her 
uncle,  and  came  on  some  business  with  ni}^ 
father.  Thinking  that  he  was  in  search  of  her, 
she  slipped  out  at  the  back  door,  went  to  an  out- 
house and  concealed  herself  in  some  dry  flax ; 
nor  was  she  found  till  after  four  o'clock,  having 
been  in  her  hiding-place  over  five  hours  and 
without  her  dinner.  To  the  little  ones  who 
found  her,  her  first  words  were :  '  Is  Mr.  Cane 
gone?  What  did  he  want?  Did  he  ask  for 
me  ?'  Being  now  satisfied  that  he  was  not  in 
search  of  her,  she  went  into  the  house  and  made 
her  apology  for  all  the  anxiety  she  had  caused 
the  family  by  her  absence.  The  Lord  did  not 
permit  her  parents  to  look  after  her  for  more 
than  six  weeks,  when  she  was  safe  at  Loretto. 
When  they  understood  she  was  really  gone, 
they  grieved  much  for  a  time,  but  became  recon- 
ciled. 

"When   asked   if  she  was   not   afraid  while 
walking  alone   in  the  night,  she  answered  she 


iy2i.]  LIFE  OF  EEV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  48T 

was  not,  for  she  felt  that  the  Lord  had  called 
her,  that  she  was  doing  His  holy  will,  and  that 
He  would  protect  her.  Her  father  was  an,  hon- 
orable man,  a  farmer  of  pretty  fair  means ;  and 
the  family  were  noted  for  their  piety,  though 
'they  knew  nothing  of  a  conventual  life,  nor  of 
what  Almighty  God  could  work  in  the  heart  of 
His  chosen  ones,  and  of  what  He  had  actually 
wrouo'ht  in  the  soul  of  their  cherished  Petro- 
nella.  Every  Sunday,  half  the  family  were  at 
church ;  the  girls  always  came  fasting,  went  to 
confession,  to  holy  communion  at  the  late  Mass, 
and  after  service,  (generally  one  o'clock,)  they 
mounted  their  horses,  and  rode  home  for  their 
breakfast,  seventeen  miles. 

"But  to  return  to  our  postulant.  She  got 
along  very  well.  On  the  feast  of  the  Ascension, 
1822,  she  received  with  great  fervor  the  re- 
ligious dress,  which,  until  that  time,  she  had  con- 
sidered herself  unworthy  of  wearing,  although 
every  one  looked  upon  her  as  a  saint.  She  re- 
ceived the  name  of  Sister  Alexandrina,  and,  at 
the  end  of  one  year,  she  made  her  vows  with  the 
greatest  joy.  On  the  18th  of  March,  1824,  she 
gave  up  her  pure  soul  to  God.  During  her  sick- 
ness, her  sutferings  were  violent ;  yet  she  made 
no  complaint,  but  looked  up  to  her  suffering 
Jesus  on  the  Cross,  happy  in  the  thought  that 
all  her  trials  would  soon  be  at  an  end,  and  the 
dear,  loving  Jesus  would  receive  her  into  His 
arms.  Finding  that  her  end  was  approaching, 
she  asked  for  the  last  Sacraments.     They  were 


488  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1821- 

administered  by  Father  Nerinckx,  who  did  not 
leave  her  until  he  had  received  her  last  sigh 
and  closed  her  eyes. 

"  Her  life,  with  her  parents,  had  been  spent 
in  innocence,  industry,  and  virtue ;  in  the  con- 
vent, in  labor,  prayer,  fasting,  and  all  sorts  of 
mortifications,  for  which  she  anxiously  sought. 
She  had  never  been  known  to  violate  the  rule  of 
silence,  was  never  absent  from  any  exercise  of 
the  community,  was  always  pleasant  with  every 
one,  and,  in  recreation,  was  the  ga^^est  of  the 
gay.  'Nor  was  she  unmindful  of  her  loving 
parents.  She  often  spoke  of  them  with  deep  af- 
fection, and  said  she  grieved  for  them  the  more, 
hecause  they  grieved  so  much  for  her.  It  was 
she  who  said  on  the  boat :  '  If  my  mother  were 
at  the  door,  I  would  fly  to  her,  and  kiss  her  a 
thousand  times.'  Virtue  is  not  incompatible 
with  filial  affection ;  she  dearly  loved  her  par- 
ents, but  she  loved  her  God  still  more.  Sister 
Alexandrina  was  a  native  of  Hartford  county, 
Maryland,  and  belonged  to  the  church  of  St.  Ig- 
natius, near  Bellair." 

As  we  stated  above,  the  missionary  party  ar- 
rived in  Louisville,  December  7,  1821.  "At 
that  early  date,  carriages  were  unknown  in  the 
now  metropolitan  city  of  Louisville.  A  large 
market-wagon  was  procured,  and  the  young 
ladies,  mounting  on  their  trunks,  and  accompa- 
nied by  Brother  Charles  Grilbert  on  horseback, 
started  for  Loretto  by  Bardstown,  which  they 
reached   on    Sunday,    9tli    of    December.     The 


1824.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  489 

good  Bishop  David  and  the  Sisters  of  Charity 
received  them  very  graciously,  and  many  in- 
ducements were  held  out  to  them  to  change 
their  vocation  and  determination  of  becoming 
Lorettines,  and  to  join  the  Sisters  of  Nazareth. 
But  they  felt  that  God  had  called  them  to  Lo- 
retto,  and  there  they  went,  regardless  of  typhoid 
fever  and  other  diseases  prevailing  in  the  com- 
munity at  that  time.  They  spent  the  Sunday  in 
Bardstown.  On  Monday,  10th  of  December,  af- 
ter having  heard  Mass,  and  while  the  stars  yet 
glimmered  in  the  sky,  they  were  again  in  the 
wagon  on  the  road  to  their  dear  Loretto,  which 
they  reached  at  eight  o'clock  p.  m.  They  were 
cordially  welcomed  by  the  sisters,  and  at  once 
admitted  into  the  community.  They  all  j)erse- 
vered,  and  are  now,  we  hope,  in  heaven.  I  said 
all ;  yet  one  of  their  number  still  lingers  on 
earth,  but  her  time,  too,  will  soon  come. 

"  Dear  Father  Nerinckx,  who,  with  Mr. 
James  Van  Bysselberghe,  had  remained  one 
day  longer  in  Louisville  to  arrange  with  wagon- 
ers and  see  his  baggage  safely  started  to  Lo- 
retto, arrived  the  next  day,  in  company  with  the 
saintly  Bishop  Flaget,  and  there  was  great  joy 
at  Loretto.  The  bells  were  rung  in  their  sweet- 
est, yet  loudest  tones ;  the  sisters,  the  pupils — 
even  the  servants — went  in  procession  to  meet 
them,  and  these  aged  fathers  mingled  their 
tears  of  joy  with  those  of  the  sisters ;  there  was 
not  a  dry  eye.  The  Bishop  led  the  way  to  the 
church,  and  preached ;  after  which.  Father  Ner- 


490  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1821- 

inckx  gave  the  Benediction  with  the  Blessed 
Sacrament.  Need  we  say  that  the  sisters 
profited  by  the  recreation  granted,  to  surround 
their  father,  and  bid  him  welcome  with  all  the 
gratitude  of  children  who  have  found  their  long- 
lost  father?" 

The  first  care  of  Father  Nerinckx  was  to  real- 
ize the  project  of  the  institution  of  a  brother- 
hood, similar  in  purpose  to  that  of  the  Society 
of  the  Friends  of  Mary,  for  the  education  of 
boys.  We  have  already  seen  how  he  was 
thwarted  in  his  plans  by  the  Rev.  Wm.  Byrne 
taking  possession  of  Mount  Mary's.  Father 
Nerinckx  vainly  objected  that,  under  the  pres- 
ent management  of  afi^airs,  not  only  the  sta- 
bility of  the  institution  itself  was  imperiled,  but 
the  possible  establishment  of  many  similar  ones 
would  be  precluded,  because  no  provision  was 
made  for  obtaining  or  training  teachers,  whilst 
the  numbers  of  the  clergy  were  totally  inade- 
quate, and  would  be  so  for  many  years  to  come. 
The  Bishop  had  approved  of  the  institution,  and 
Father  Byrne  w^as  determined  to  remain. 
Bishop  Flaget  would  likely  have  been  very  Avill- 
ing  to  turn  over  the  school  to  the  hard-working 
priest,  who  had  conceived  the  first  idea  of  its 
feasibility  and  had  acquired  the  grounds  for  that 
very  purpose ;  but  he  thought  he  could  not  eject 
the  Rev.  Byrne  from  the  college  which  he  had 
established.  And  so  were  the  cherished  plans 
of  the  Rev.  Father  Nerinckx  defeated,  and  ho 
submitted  without  grumbling.     It  was  a  great 


1824.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  491 

loss  for  the  church  in  Kentucky,  but  the  mission- 
ary had  done  what  he  coukl ;  he  worked  not  for 
his  own  renown,  but  for  the  glory  of  God  ;  and, 
having  no  other  resources  to  rely  on,  unwilling, 
moreover,  to  start  what  might  be  looked  upon  as 
an  opposition  establishment,  he  relinquished  his 
project,  and  was  so  forced  to  refuse  the  many 
young  men  who  had  already  applied  for  admis- 
sion into  the  projected  brotherhood.  Far  from 
showing  any  ill-will  to  the  college  thus  founded, 
Father  Nerinckx,  with  true  christian  self-denial, 
did  all  in  his  power  to  insure  its  success,  and 
even  sent  to  Mount  Mary's  a  little  colony  of  Lo- 
retto  sisters  to  do  the  work  which,  for  want  of 
means,  Father  Byrne  could  not  intrust  to  hired 
help. 

Father  Nerinckx  now  turned  all  his  energies- 
to  increase  the  usefulness  of  his  own  institution 
of  sisters.  Measures  were  immediately  taken 
to  establish  a  house  near  Fairfield,  Nelson 
county,*  Kentucky,  and  on  the  21st  of  Decem- 
ber of  the  same  year  (1821),  Mother  Bibiana 
Elder  was  sent  there  as  Superior,  with  ten  sis- 
ters. This  institution  received  the  name  of 
Bethania,  and  the  care  thereof  devolved  on 
Father  Chabrat,  who,  on  his  return  from  Eu- 
roj^e,  had  been  appointed  to  take  care  of  the 
congregations  surrounding  Bardstown. 

The     establishment     of     Bethania,    Spencer 
county,  ceased  to  exist  on  the  6th  of  April,  1828, 

*The  convent,  however,  was  situated  in  what  is  now  Spencer 
County. 


492  LIFE  OF  EEV.  CHARLES  NERTNCKX.         [1821- 

it  being  Easter  Monday  ;  and  the  sisters  arrived 
at  Loretto  in  the  evening  of  the  same  day,  and 
were  affectionately  received  by  the  superiors  and 
sisters.  That  community  had  been  sorely  af- 
flicted ;  for,  after  a  short  existence  of  six  years 
and  a  half,  the  remains  of  eleven  of  its  members 
were  left  reposing  under  the  shadow  of  the  large 
cross  which  adorned  its  Cemetery.  Some  time 
after,  Mother  Josephine  Kelly,  local  superior  of 
Oethsemani,  was  deputized  to  preside  at  the  re- 
moval of  the  remains  of  the  sisters  who  died  at 
Bethania,  to  the  Loretto  graveyard.  Numbers 
of  people  collected  to  witness  the  solemn  scene, 
and  Father  James  Elliot,  parish  priest  of  Fairfield, 
taking  into  his  hands  the  fleshless  skull  of  Sister 
Everildis,  whom  all  had  known  as  a  beautiful 
and  accomplished  young  lady  who  had  forsaken 
the  world  and  soon  after  died,  among  them,  the 
death  of  the  elect,  pathetically  addressed  his 
audience,  reminding  them  of  the  certainty  of 
death  and  the  necessity  of  working  for  the  salva- 
tion of  their  souls. 

But  above  all  things  Father  Nerinckx  applied 
himself  diligently  to  his  sisterhood's  spiritual 
training,  about  which  he  was  far  more  anxious 
than  about  the  increase  of  its  institutions.  He 
well  knew  that  apj)lications  for  colonies  of  his 
sisters  would  never  be  wanting,  provided  they 
were  virtuous  and  faithful  to  their  vocation ;  and 
convinced,  moreover,  that  his  pilgrimage  on 
earth  would  soon  be  at  an  end,  he  applied  him- 
self, during  the  year  1822,  with  possibly  more 


1824.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  493 

fervor  than  heretofore,  to  imbue  them  thoroughly 
with  the  s^^irit  of  penance  and  mortification, 
which  was  the  groundwork  of  the  whole  fabric. 
To  this  end,  he  jotted  down  a  few  notes  for  the 
guidance  of  the  sisters,  and  gave  them  oral  in- 
structions as  often  as  his  missionary  duties, 
which  did  not  require  his  being  away  as  much  as 
in  former  years,  would  allow. 

Among  the  signs  of  vocation  to  his  institute, 
he  pats  down  as  the  first  and  most  important : 
"An  uncommon  love  for  Jesus  suffering  and 
Mary  sorrowing."  That  devotion  is  the  touch- 
stone of  a  religious  call  to  his  sisterhood  ;  it  per- 
vades all  his  own  labors,  and  is  constantly 
recalled  to  the  sisters.  "  Friday  in  Passion-week," 
he  says,  "is  the  great  festival  in  the  Society  of 
the  Friends  of  Mary.  On  this  day  we  commemo- 
rate the  sorrows  of  our  Blessed  Lady,  caused 
by  the  sufferings  and  death  of  her  Divine  Son, 
our  Redeemer.  As  you  are  titled  Friends  of 
Mary  at  the  Foot  of  the  Cross,  you  have  just  cause 
to  claim  as  your  own  festive  day,  that,  on 
which  is  piously  commemorated  the  grief 
and  sorrow  of  your  Sacred  Sorrowful  Mother. 
The  Passion  of  our  Lord  might  be  read,  in  Holy 
Week,  soon  after  dinner  on  Tuesday,  Wednes- 
day, and  Fridiiy."*  Of  this,  and  other  subjects 
which  occupied  his  vigilant  care  during  the  year 
1822,  when  he,  so  to  speak,  perfected  and  put 
the  last  finish  to  his  institution,  we  will  speak  in 

*  Oral  instructions  of  Father  Nerinckx,  taken  down  by  Sister 
Louisa. 


494  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1821- 

the  chapter  devoted  to  an  appreciation  of  his 
:spirit. 

The  rule  regulating  the  election  of  a  Superior- 
General,  provided  that  a  new  election  should 
take  place  every  three  years.  Pursuant  to  that 
rule,  "  the  first  regular  election  took  place  about 
the  Feast  of  the  Purification  of  our  Lady,  and 
the  installation  on  the  25th  of  March,  1822. 
The  Dear  Mother  was  Sister  Juliana  Wathen. 
The  Mother  Superior  of  Loretto,  Sister  Ann 
Hevern.  The  Mother  Superior  of  Calvary,  Sis- 
ter Reyneldis  Hayden.  The  Mother  Superior 
of  Gethsemani,  Sister  Isabella  Clarke.  The 
Mother  Superior  of  Bethania,  Sister  Bibiana 
Elder.  The  Mother  Superior  of  Jericho  (in 
Mechlin,  Belgium),  Miss  Mary  Neeffs."  * 

In  the  Spring  of  1823,  Father  Nerinckx  be- 
gan the  building  of  a  new  brick  church  at  Holy 
Cross,  which  was  to  be  his  crowning  work  on 
the  Kentucky  mission.  The  log  chapel,  the 
first  church  ever  built  in  Kentucky,  by  the  Rev. 
Mr.  De  Rohan  in  1790,  was  in  a  dilapidated 
condition,  and  the  catholics  had  sufficiently  in- 
creased in  numbers  and  wealth  to  warrant  the 
undertaking.  Father  Nerinckx  called  upon  his 
congregation  to  organize  a  hee  for  the  cutting  of 
the  necessary  timber,  and  an  eye-witness  relates 
that,    notwithstanding   his   sixty-two   years,    he 

*  Father  Nerinckx'  journal.  This  Belgian  House  had  most 
likely  been  aggregated  to  Loretto  dui'ing  Rev.  Nerincl<.x'  stay  in 
Belgium,  and  it  consisted  of  a  kind  of  tertiaries,  maidens  who 
lived  in  the  world  and  observed  the  Loretto  rules  as  far  as 
practicable  in  that  state.  Miss  Mary  Neeffs  (?  De  Neff )  was  the 
■daughter  of  Mr.  De  Neflf,  spoken  of  in  chapter  XXVI. 


1824.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHAELES  NERINCKX.  495 

was  as  ready  as  ever  to  give  them  a  helping 
hand.  When  the  timber  was  squared,  the 
farmers  assembled  with  their  teams  to  haul  it  to 
the  church.  One  of  them,  Jim  Newton,  rather 
prided  himself  in  his  good  team,  and  undertook 
to  start  a  load  which  threatened  to  prove  too 
much  for  the  strength  of  his  animals.  The 
priest,  noticing  that  the  lower  portion  of  a  fallen 
tree  with  roots  sticking  up  (called  a  root-ward,  in 
Kentuck}^,)  seemed  in  the  road  of  the  team, 
"bade  two  men  to  lift  it  out  of  the  way.  "  Too 
heavy,"  was  the  prompt  reply.  The  courageous 
priest,  whose  strength  of  body,  though  much 
impaired,  was  still  equal  to  his  zeal,  insisted 
upon  their  trying  it,  but  they  had  to  give  it  up 
as  a  bad  job.  Father  Nerinckx  rallied  them, 
good-naturedly,  upon  the  lack  of  strength  of  the 
young  generation,  and  quietly  walking  up  to 
where  the  root-ward  was  lying,  he  braced  him- 
self behind  it,  took  it  up  in  his  arms,  and  threw 
it  forward  over  the  fence ;  then  told  Jim  to  go 
on  with  his  load.  The  latter  vigorously  applied 
the  whip  to  his  spirited  horses,  but  to  no  avail ; 
they  could  not  start  it,  and  Jim  threw  anxious 
side-glances  at  Father  Nerinckx.  Finally,  turn- 
ing around,  he  requested  him  to  retire,  saying 
that,  unless  he  went  out  of  sight,  the  horses 
would  not  pull.  The  priest  was  puzzled,  and 
asked  what  prevented  the  horses  pulling  in  his 
presence,  but  he  could  elicit  no  further  explana- 
tion out  of  the  shrewd  Kentuckians,  who  knew 
well  how  severe  he  was  on  a  certain  failing  com- 


496  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1821- 

iiion  to  teamsters ;  and  the  priest  had  to  yield 
and  withdraw.  As  soon  as  Jim  saw  him  disap- 
pear in  the  forest,  and  had  allowed  sufficient 
time  for  him  to  be  out  of  hearing,  he  cracked 
his  whip  over  the  horses'  heads,  and  launched  at 
them  a  rather  high-sounding  expletive,  which 
started  them  as  if  by  magic.  However,  Father 
Nerinckx  overheard  the  curse  which  the  men 
had  tried  to  drown  with  shouts,  and  he  gave  the 
abashed  woodsman  such  a  sound  rebuke,  that, 
forty  years  later,  Jim  had  not  yet  forgotten  it. 

Father  ISTerinckx  continued  to  superintend  the 
work  during  the  whole  of  that  Summer,  and 
passed  much  of  his  time  at  Holy  Cross.  On  the 
9th  of  June,  1823,  he  wrote  to  his  brother  and 
sister,  in  London :  "  I  am,  thanks  to  God,  mid- 
dling well  in  health,  as  I  hope  you  are,  and  as 
busy  as  ever  if  not  more  so,  without  any  charge 
of  any  particular  congregation.  I  wrote  to  you 
some  particulars  that  have  taken  place  since  my 
last  return  from  Europe;  just  now,  I  am  back 
from  a  trip  I  made  to  Vincennes,  one  hundred 
and  eighty  miles  from  this  place,  where  I  in- 
stalled a  young  French  priest  as  pastor  of  that 
place  and  of  the  neighborhood.  On  that  oc- 
casion, a  demand  was  made  for  a  colony  of  our 
sisters  for  a  school.  I  was  requested  to  build 
the  church  of  Holy  Cross  in  that  congregation ; 
it  is  now  under  roof.  It  will  be  middling  large 
and  neat  when  finished,  but  a  hard  struggle  to 
bring  it  to  that."  In  a  letter  to  Mother  Bibiana 
of  Bethania,  dated  Loretto,  December  22,  1823, 


1821]         LIFE  OF  EEV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  497 

he  says:  "I  am  but  seldom  at  Loretto;  Holy 
Cross  keeps  me  constantly  busy,  and  has  done- 
so  nearly  four  months  ;  I  hope  it  will  be  finished 
before  long.  I  want  some  church  utensils  for 
that  chapel ;  but,  what  is  worse,  the  tidings 
from  Europe  seem  to  put  an  end  to  our  expecta- 
tions from  that  country — my  only  source  of 
help ;  so  that  patience  will  have  to  do  the  main 
business." 

These  troubles  were,  however,  compensated 
in  part  by  the  happy  tidings  from  Missouri, 
where  the  sisters  had  been  sent  the  previous 
Spring,  and  where  they  were  liked  so  well  that 
in  the  same  letter  Father  Nerinckx  adds : 
"  The  town  of  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  asks  the  Lo- 
retto nuns  for  the  service  of  their  hospital  and 
orphanage ;  the  society  can  not  refuse  these- 
works  of  charity,  but  it  may  be  projoer  to  make 
those  that  oifer  themselves  sensible  of  the  kind 
of  duty  they  may  have  to  comply  with.  The 
Barrens  at  the  Iron  Works  call  for  sisters ;  Holy^ 
Cross  chapel  wants  some  also." 

In  the  meantime,  God  had  blessed  the  work 
of  his  faithful  servant,  and  vocations  to  the 
sisterhood  multiplied  rapidly ;  indeed  Father 
Nerinckx  stood  in  need  of  them  all,  for  applica- 
tions for  sisters  came  from  every  quarter.  After 
mentioning  the  three  houses,  of  which  we  will 
now  give  a  short  account,  in  a  letter  to  his 
brother,*  Father  JSTerinckx  adds :    "  Four  more^ 

*  MS.  letter  of  .1  une  9,  1823. 


498  LIFE  OF  EEV.  CHAELES  NERINCKX.         [1821- 

.at  least,  are  requested;  our  number  grows 
.small,  weak,  and  too  young  ;  we  have  still  in  all 
the  houses,  and  particularly  at  Loretto,  a  great 
number  of  individuals  to  feed  and  to  clothe,  and 
.at  Loretto  barely  one  that  pays  for  schooling, 
-which  amounts  to  fifty  dollars  a  year;  we  feel 
•a  great  scarcity  of  corn,  the  price  is  six  times 
what  it  used  to  be." 

In  February,  1823,  a  new  colony  of  six  sisters, 
under  the  superiorship  of  Mother  Agnes  Hart, 
had  been  sent  to  Breckinridge  county,  Ky., 
where  they  established  a  new  house,  near  Har- 
dinsburgh,  called  Mount-Cannel*  After  a  few 
years  this  establishment  was  removed  to  Har- 
din county,  near  Elizabethtown ;  and  from  the 
fact  that  the  removal  was  made  toward  Christ- 
mas time,  the  sisters  called  their  new  home 
Bethlehem ;  they  permanently  settled  there  Janu- 
ary 1,  1831. 

During  that  same  Winter  of  1823,  Bishop  Du- 
bourg,  who  had  conceived  a  great  idea  of  Father 
Nerinckx'  virtue  when  he  met  him  first  in  St. 
Thomas'  Seminary,  in  1817,  wrote  to  him  re- 
questing a  colony  of  sisters  for  his  diocese  of  St. 
Louis.  Early  in  the  Spring,  that  Prelate  went 
to  Georgetown  College  to  ask  missionaries  for 
the  Indian  tribes  of  Missouri,  and  invited 
Father  Nerinckx  to  meet  him  in  Louisville,  on 

*  "A  heavy  share  of  the  expenses  of  the  colony  sent  to  Rev. 
Mr.  Abel,  fell  again  on  poor  me;  it  started  from  here  on  Ash 
Wednesday  last.  This  new  house  is  called  Mount- Carmel."  MS. 
letter  of  Rev.  Nerinckx,  June,  1823. 


1824.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  499 

his  return.  It  was  on  his  way  to  that  city  that 
the  following  incident  occurred.  Its  truth  is 
vouched  for  by  Sister  Eulalia  Kelly,  in  whose 
presence  the  priest  himself  told  it  at  Calvary 
Convent,  when  visiting  that  community  to  des- 
ignate those  who  had  to  go  to  Missouri.  Arriv- 
ino-  at  Salt  river,  between  Bardstown  and 
Louisville,  Father  Nerinckx  found  the  stream 
very  much  swollen  in  consequence  of  the  heavy 
rains  which  attended  the  mild  Spring  weather  of 
1823.  He,  however,  determined  to  ford  it. 
Mid-stream  his  horse  was  swept  from  under  him 
by  the  violence  of  the  current,  and  the  priest 
was  in  imminent  danger  of  being  drowned,  when 
he  loudly  invoked  the  help  of  the  Blessed  Virgin 
Mary  and  lost  all  consciousness.  He  stated 
that  he  did  not  know  whether  he  fainted  or  not, 
but  that  when  he  recovered  his  senses,  he  found 
himself  and  horse  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
river,  safe  and  perfectly  dry !  His  interview 
with  the  Bishop  in  Louisville  was  most  cordial 
and  consoling  to  both,  and  arrangements  were 
perfected  for  the  immediate  foundation  of  a  new 
house  of  the  Loretto  Sisters,  in  Perry  county, 
Missouri. 

On  the  12th  day  of  May,  1823,*  twelve  sisters, 

*We  have  adopted  the  date  of  the  St.  Louis  record,  which 
coincides  with  Sister  Eulalia's  reminiscences.  In  his  letter  of 
June  9,  1823,  Father  Nerinckx  says:  "Two  weeks  ago  I  was 
again  at  Louisville  with  a  colony  of  twelve  sisters,  their  Mother, 
and  the  Dear  Mother  who  went  by  the  steamboat,  The  Cincinnati, 
to  Louisiana,  .  .  .  seven  hundred  miles  from  here  by  water. 
Kt.  Rev.  Mr.  Rosati,  of  the  Lazarists,  now  named  Bishop  of  Ala- 


500  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1821- 

Sister  Joanna  Miles,  superior,  left  for  the. new 
mission,  after  having  heard  Mass  and  received 
Holy  Communion ;  and,  as  it  was  Loretto's  first 
attempt  at  colonization  out  of  Kentucky,  the 
Dear  Mother  Juliana  Wathen,  accompanied 
them.  They  reached  the  Monastery  of  Geth- 
semani  the  same  evening,  and  remained  there  till 
the  next  morning,  when  Rev.  Father  Nerinckx 
said  Mass  for  them,  and  gave  them  Holy  Com- 
munion, after  which  they  resumed  their  journey, 
and  reached  the  Convent  of  Bethania,  near  Fair- 
field, Nelson  county,  that  night.  Next  morning 
they  left  Bethania,  after  Mass  and  Holy  Commun- 
ion, and  arrived  the  same  evening  at  Louisville, 
where  they  were  very  kindly  received  by  a 
catholic  gentleman,  Mr.  James  Holden,  and 
family.  The  next  day,  15th  of  May,  they  were 
accompanied  to  the  parish  church  of  Louisville 
by  Mr.  Holden  and  Mr.  Byrne,  went  a  last  time 
to  confession,  heard  Mass,  and  were  once  more 
strengthened  by  the  reception  of  the  bread  of 
angels;  they  then  took  leave  of  Father  Ner- 
inckx  and  went  on  board  the  steamer  Cincinnati 
toward  evening.  The  boat  was  a  very  unsafe 
one;  three  times  during  the  night  were  they 
told  to  take  to  the  skifi's,  as  the  boat  was  thought 
to  be  sinking  ;  in  fact,  it  did  sink  on  that  trip,  a 
few  hours   after  the   sisters   had  disembarked. 

bama  is  to  be  their  director."  The  details  attending  the  founda- 
tion of  this  important  mission  are  taken  from  recollections  of 
Sister  Eulalia  Kelly,  letters  of  Father  Nerinokx,  and  from  a  MS. 
record  found  in  the  Chancery  of  the  Archdiocese  of  St.  Louis, 
kindly  copied  for  us  by  Rev.  D.  J.  Doherty  of  the  cathedral. 


1824.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  501 

After  a  very  unpleasant  trip  of  six  days,  they 
landed,  on  the  21st  of  May,  at  the  house  of  Mr. 
Bird,*  and  remained  there  that  night.  As  the 
little  dwelling  intended  for  the  sisters  was  not 
yet  under  roof,  they  were  kindly  received  the 
next  day  at  the  house  of  Mrs.  Sarah  Hayden, 
the  mother  of  one  of  the  sisters  belonging  to  the 
band,t  where  they  received  the  visit  of  Rev. 
Joseph  Rosati  the  same  day.  This  reverend 
gentleman  heard  their  confessions,  said  Mass  for 
them  the  next  morning,  and  gave  them  Holy 
Communion,  and  continued  that  kind  office  on 
Sundays  and  Thursdays  during  the  twenty-three 
days  that  they  remained  at  Mrs.  Hayden's. 

The  sisters  took  possession  of  their  own  new 
home,  June  14,  1823,  when  Rev.  Father  Rosati, 
with  one  seminarian,  accompanied  them  to  their 
convent,  named  it,  because  of  its  poverty,  Beth- 
lehem, blessed  it,  and  afterward  gave  them  a 
very  appropriate  exhortation.  The  house  was  a 
small  log  cabin,  constructed  for  the  sisters  by 
some  of  the  inhabitants,  but  chiefly  by  the  semi- 
narians and  clergymen,  among  whom  were  Rev. 

*  "  Now  occupied  by  Joseph  Pratt,"  adds  the  St.  Louis  record, 
which  seems  to  have  been  written  in  1836  ;  it  was  called  Fratis 
landing,  near  the  present  Si.  Marys  landing,  twelve  miles  from 
Bethlehem. 

f  Sister  Mechtildis  Hayden  was  the  daughter  of  the  hospitable 
Mrs.  Hayden,  at  whose  house,  three  miles  from  the  Seminary, 
near  which  Bethlehem  Convent  was  being  built,  the  sisters  re- 
mained till  their  dwelling  was  finished.  Mrs.  Hayden's  parents, 
and  those  of  her  husband,  had  moved  with  their  families  from 
Pottinger's  Creek,  in  Kentucky,  to  Missouri,  and  they  had  been 
among  the  early  catholic  emigrants  from  Maryland. 


602  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1821- 

Mr.  Rosati,  afterward  Bishop  of  St.  Louis,  and 
Rev.  Mr.  De  Neckere,  afterward  Bishop  of  New 
Orleans.  It  was  erected  near  the  parish  church, 
the  spot  being  selected  becaus'e  of  its  vicinity  to 
a  spring.  This  spring  and  a  few  acres  of  land 
were  donated  to  the  sisters  by  Mr.  Joseph  Man- 
ning. The  poor  religious  tried  to  get  along  the 
best  way  they  could,  but  it  was  rather  up-hill 
work,  and  the  fever  and  ague,  which  prostrated 
them  all  during  the  dry  and  sickly  Summer  of 
that  year,  made  their  experience  of  mission  life 
all  the  more  unpleasant.  They  had  neither 
chimney  nor  stove;  some  forked  sticks  driven 
into  the  ground  and  covered  with  green  bushes 
was  their  only  kitchen  for  about  four  months. 
But  they  had  been  trained  at  the  school  of  pov- 
erty and  mortification,  and  it  must  have  been  a 
real  feast  when  Dear  Mother  read  to  them  the 
following  refreshing  letter,  addressed  by  their 
venerable  and  austere  guide.  Rev.  Father  Ner- 
inckx, 

"To  Bear  Mother,  Mother  Joanna  and  all  the  he- 
loved  Sisters  in  Christ  Jesus  Suffering  and 
Mary  Sorrowing,  at  the  new  house  of  Bethle- 
hem.    All  our  very  best  wishes. 

"  LoEETTO,  11th  of  June,  1823. 
"Yesterday,  coming   from    Calvary,  I    found 
your  four  letters  at  this  place.     I  see,  an  uncom- 
mon providence  of  God  has  guided  your  ways 
and  presided  at  all  things,  of  which  none  could 


1^24]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  ^QS 

have  succeeded  better.  The  house  not  beino; 
finished  may  somewhat  interrupt  your  regular 
exercises,  but  I  think  your  presence  will  encour- 
age the  work  to  have  more  of  it  better  done,  as 
you  will  be  able  to  give  informations  how  things 
ought  to  be.  Have  it  all  in  a  monastery-like 
manner  as  much  as  possible,  poor  with  the  bare 
necessities,  out  of  sight,  and  separate  as  far  as 
you  can.  Beware  of  eleganc}^,  be  satisfied 
with  simplest  everywhere  except  in  your  chapel, 
where  extreme  neatness — still  no  mundanity, 
that  is,  no  worldly  vanity  or  levity — ought  to  be 
found.  You  know  what  this  talk  and  advice 
means ;   hold  it  from  your  old  father. 

"  I  feel  happy  more  than  I  can  express,  that 
my  expectations  and  wishes  are  so  completely 
accomplished,  by  your  having  for  a  guide  so 
worthy  and  so  suitable  a  minister  of  the  Lord  ; 
may  he  direct  you  for  many  years,  and  procure 
3^ou  all  that  bliss  and  happiness  that  you  look 
for  in  the  society  here  and  hereafter !  Give  him 
my  best  respects  and  highest  esteem,  and  ofi'er 
my  deepest  veneration  to  your  most  excellent 
Bishop  when  convenient.  Dear  Mother  will 
continue  in  establishing,  etc.,  at  Bethlehem,  par- 
ticularly so,  if  there  be,  in  course  of  time,  a 
prospect  of  any  new  one,  which  must  not  be 
done  without  our  advice.  I  want  you  to  con- 
tinue sending  informations,  if  they  be  of  im- 
portance, at  least  once  in  two  months.  I  re- 
ceived a  letter  from  my  countryman,  Rev.  Mr. 


504  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHAKLES  NERINCKX.         [1821- 

Lacroix,*  last  week ;  give  him  my  thanks  and 
•compliments  when  he  comes  around.  I  said, 
and  I  think  I  would  come  and  live  on  the  Mis- 
souri, if  two  establishments  were  made  amons'st 
the  Indians ;  but  I  expect  the  young  Jesuits,f 

*  Charles  De  La  Croix  was  born  at  Hoorebeke,  Saint  Corneille, 
Belgium,  in  1792.  He  was  preparing  for  his  theological  studies, 
when,  owing  to  the  intrusion  of  the  Imperial  Bishop  into  the 
See  of  Ghent,  he  left  Belgium.  He  was  soon  after  apprehended 
and  incorporated  in  the  regiment  of  the  imperial  guards.  He 
escaped  from  Paris,  and  entered  the  Diocesan  Seminary  of 
Ghent,  October  I,  1814,  and  was  there  ordained  by  Bishop  Du- 
bourg  for  the  American  mission.  He  arrived  in  America  in 
1817;  was  successively  pastor  of  the  Barrens,  Mo.,  and  St.  Ferdi- 
nand and  missionary  among  the  Osages  till  1823,  when  he  gave 
up  his  mission  to  the  Jesuit  Fathers,  owing  to  ill-health.  He 
then  became  pastor  of  St.  Michael's  parish  (Louisiana),  but  was 
soon  compelled  to  give  up  his  charge  in  1826,  and  seek  for  bet- 
ter health  in  his  native  land,  where  he  remained  till  1829,  when 
he  returned  to  Louisiana.  He  resumed  his  pastoral  duties  at 
St.  Michael,  built  there  a  beautiful  chapel,  and,  upon  the  death 
of  Bishop  De  Neckere,  obtained  leave  from  Vic.  Gen.  Blanc  to 
return  to  Europe  in  1834.  The  rest  of  his  life  was  passed  in 
Ohent — the  Bishop  of  that  See  having  appointed  him  a  canon 
of  his  cathedral — in  various  duties  of  the  sacred  ministry.  He 
died,  August  20,  1869. 

fThey  were:  Rev.  Fathers  Van  Quickenborne  and  Timmer- 
mans,  with  the  young  men  whom  Father  Nerinckx  had  brought 
from  Belgium,  and  Brothers  Peter  Demeyer,  Henry  Rysselman, 
and  Charles  Strahan.  Of  these  reverend  gentlemen  Father 
Nerinckx  writes,  June  9,  1823:  "After  our  sisters  started  from 
Louisville,  Kentucky,  to  St.  Louis,  Louisiana,  the  following  day 
arrived,  at  that  place,  fourteen  Jesuits — two  priests,  three  lay- 
brothers,  and  nine  students — all  Flemish,  who  came  in  America 
with  me  or  after  me.  They  come  from  Georgetown  College, 
with  six  negroes,  to  settle  at  Florissant,  on  the  Missouri,  sixteen 
miles  from  St.  Louis,  which  place  Bishop  Dubourg  gives  to 
them,  with  the  missions  of  the  wilds  and  civilized  of  that  tract. 
Our  sisters,  as  the  Bishop  told  me,  may,  before  long,  be  sent  to 
the  savages,  named  the  Osages;  if  they  be,  I  would  go  and  join 
them." 


1S24.]         LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  IfERINCKX.  505 

my  countrymen  from  Georgetown,  will  fill  up  this 
task,  as  they  are  gone  that  way,  where  the 
daughters  of  the  Sacred  Hearts  are  sacrificing 
their  labors. 

"I  have  had  a  little  talk  with  our  Bishop 
about  going  once  more  to  Europe.     .     .     . 

"  I  send  you  all,  my  dear,  poor  children,  my 
hearty  wishes  and  God's  best  blessing;  mind 
your  happiness,  and  thank  God  without  ceasing. 
Pray  God  that  I  may  join  you  in  heaven. 

"  C.  N'ERmCKX." 

By  the  14th  of  September,  the  sisters  had  a 
room  fitted  up  for  a  school,  which  was  opened 
on  the  24th  of  the  same  month  with  six  pupils, 
and  another  room  for  a  chapel,  which  enabled 
them  to  perform  their  devotions  and  hear  Mass 
at  home,  for,  up  to  this  time,  they  had  daily  at- 
tended the  parish  church  services.  When 
Father  Nerinckx  visited  them  in  July,  1824, 
their  numbers  had  increased  by  the  reception  of 
seven  orphans,  at  which  the  good  father  was  un- 
commonly well  pleased,  and  augured  well  for 
the  future  of  the  establishment.*  Before  leav- 
ing them,  he  made  arrangements  for  the  erec- 
tion of  a  large  frame  church,  and  his  sudden  de- 
mise did  not  put  a  stop  to  the  building.  In 
April,  1825,  it  was  ready  for  weather-boarding. 

*In  1834,  some  sisters  were  sent  from  Bethlehem  to  take 
charge  of  a  school  at  Frederickstown,  in  Madison  county,  Mo.; 
but,  as  they  were  unable  to  procure  a  deed  to  the  property,  they 
iibandoned  the  place  in  April,  1837. 


506  LIFE  OF  KEV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.        [1821- 

Boards,  doors,  window-frames,  sashes,  shutters, 
glass,  paints — in  fact,  every  thing  pertaining  ta 
the  new  building,  was  on  the  spot,  when  the 
hand  of  an  incendiary  set  fire  to  the  structure 
two  days  before  the  finishing  work  was  to  be  re- 
sumed, and  it  was  reduced  to  ashes  with  all  its 
contents.  At  this  sad  disaster,  the  sisters  were 
very  much  discouraged ;  still,  they  went  bravely 
on,  and  the  next  year  they  got  their  log-house 
plastered,  built  new  brick  additions,  and  were, 
at  last,  somewhat  comfortable. 

In  the  midst  of  all  these  trials,  the  sisters 
had  the  consolation  of  seeing  the  number  of 
their  scholars  increase,  and  of  knowing  that 
their  unremitting  efforts  for  education  were 
fully  appreciated  by  their  ecclesiastical  su- 
periors. From  the  Barrens,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Ro- 
sati  wrote  as  early  as  May  24,  1823,  to  Mr.  Du- 
bourg,  of  Bordeaux,  France :  "  Your  very 
worthy  brother  (Bishop  Dubourg)  has  just  ren- 
dered to  religion  services  as  important  as  dur- 
able. During  his  journey  to  Washington,  he 
secured  a  colony  of  Jesuits,  who  are  expected 
every  day.  They  will  be  established  at  Floris- 
sant, a  French  village,  sixteen  miles  from  St. 
Louis.  On  his  return  from  Washington,  our 
worthy  prelate  obtained  twelve  religious  of  the 
diocese  of  Bardstown.  They  are  already  here. 
We  built  for  them  a  house,  of  the  style  here 
called  log-cabin.  They  breathe  poverty,  mortifi- 
cation, and  fervor.  Their  monastery  will  be  a 
source  of  blessings  to  the   country.     Although 


1824.]         LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  507 

we  began  the  establishment  without  funds,  be- 
cause of  the  poverty  of  our  catholics,  we  are  not 
in  the  least  concerned  about  their  sustenance ; 
they  will  live  by  the  product  of  their  work ; 
they  themselves  work  in  the  garden,  cut  their 
fire-wood,  weave  the  cloth  for  their  dresses, 
make  their  own  shoes,  etc.  Their  life  is  very 
austere,  and  very  edifying.  All  their  establish- 
ments, which  now  number  six,  in  Kentucky,  are 
numerously  attended  by  boarders  and  day- 
scholars,  and  increase  in  community  members 
with  a  marvelous  rapidity.  They  number  al- 
ready over  one  hundred  and  thirty.  God  be 
praised,  who  deigns  to  give  us,  through  them, 
the  means  to  make  religion  and  piety  flourish  in 
these  regions !" 

And  August  16th  of  the  same  year  he  wrote 
again :  "  I  have  already  spoken  to  you  of  the 
establishment  of  religious,  which,  according  to 
the  orders  of  Monseigneur  (Dubourg),  is  made 
here,  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  Seminary. 
They  are  now  in  their  new  home,  and  have  ad- 
mitted a  few  orphans ;  as  soon  as  the  house  is 
finished  they  will  admit  boarders  and  day 
scholars.  You  would  be  edified,  my  dear  sir,  if 
you  saw  those  holy  maidens.  But  what  do  I 
say?  One  sees  only  their  dress,  for  a  veil  of  coarse 
linen  envelops  the  whole  head.  Their  dress, 
furniture,  every  thing  in  fact,  bespeaks  poverty 
and  humility.  They  work  the  whole  day  long, 
not  only  sewing,  spinning,  and  weaving,  but  also 
working  in  the  field.     Perpetual  silence,  with 


508  -LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1821- 

the  exception  of  an  hour's  recreation  after  din- 
ner, and  frequent  j^rayer  sanctify  their  day, 
which  is  very  long,  for  they  get  up  at  four  a.  m. 
Every  thing  about  them  reminds  one  of  the  old 
solitude  of  Thebais.  Every  quarter  of  an  hour 
one  exclaims  :  '  0  Suffering  Jesus  ! '  and  is  an- 
swered by  the  others  with :  '  0  Sorrowful 
Mary ! '  From  time  to  time  they  may  be  heard 
singing  canticles  at  the  sound  of  the  bell,  with- 
out interrupting  their  work.  Although  not 
cloistered,  they  are  entirely  secluded,  and  our 
good  people  respect  them  so  much  that  they 
never  dare  to  intrude  upon  their  silence.  They 
sro  barefooted,  have  no  other  dresses  but  what 
they  make  themselves,  of  dyed  linen  in  Summer 
and  of  wool  in  Winter,  and  they  sleep  upon  a 
straw  tick,  spread  on  the  bare  floor.  Their  fare 
is  not  more  delicate :  no  coffee,  tea,  or  sugar. 
It  is  a  true  pleasure  to  witness  their  fervor, 
which  equals  that  of  the  strictest  communities 
of  Europe  in  the  palmiest  days  of  their  first 
establishment.  They  will,  without  doubt,  draw 
the  blessings  of  God  on  the  parish.  .  .  .  They 
will  also  be  of  great  service  to  the  Seminary, 
weaving  linen  cloth,  etc.  Their  house  consists 
of  three  apartments  twenty  by  eighteen  feet,  two 
stories  high,  two  of  which  are  joined  together 
by  a  passage  twelve  by  eighteen  feet.  We  intend 
to  build  them  a  little  chapel,  but  I  do  not  know 
when  we  will  have  the  means  to  do  so." 

Says  Bishop  Dubourg  in  a  letter  to  his  brother, 
dated   March  20,  1824:     "I  think  I  informed 


1824.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  50O 

you  of  the  fact  that  a  gentleman  gave  me  a  small 
farm  at  la  Fourche,  where  I  desire  to  establish 
the  Sisters  of  the  Cross,*  of  which  I  have  al- 
ready the  goodly  number  of  seventeen  in  the 
State  of  Missouri.  Four  or  five  of  them  at  la 
Fowrche  ^\\\\  soon  swell  to  a  score,  which  I  design 
distributing  in  the  different  parishes,  for  the  in- 
struction of  poor  girls.  This  will  be  a  source  of 
incalculable  good.  The  great  advantage  with 
these  good  sisters  is  that  to  establish  them,  it  is 
enough  to  give  them  a  piece  of  land,  a  hut,  some 
farming  implements,  kitchen  utensils,  and  looms ; 
with  these  they  themselves  provide  for  all  their 
wants,  and  find  the  means  of  giving  a  solid  edu- 
cation to  the  children,  in  return  for  a  few  pro- 
visions furnished  by  the  parents.  They  even 
take  upon  themselves  the  gratuitous  care  of 
destitute  orphans.  This  is  the  admirable 
foundation  of  Mr.  Nerinckx  of  Kentucky." 

The  Bethlehem  establishment  was  subse- 
quently removed  to  Cape  Girardeau,  in  1838. 

In  April,  1824,  a  new  establishment  was  made 
in  Casey  count\^,  Kentucky,  under  the  name  of 
Mount  Olivet.  This  house  existed  only  four 
years,  under  the  direction  of  Mother  Dorothea 
Fenwick,  who,  in  that  short  time,  had  to  mourn 
the  loss  of  two  of  her  sisters,  viz..  Sister  Colette 
Miles  and  Eusebia  Cooms.     When  the  institu- 

*  The  Friends  of  Mary  at  the  Foot  of  the  Cross.  This  and  the 
two  previous  letters,  are  taken  from:  '^  NouveVes  recues  des  Mis- 
sions. Association  de  la  Propagation  de  la  Foi.  2me.  edition.  No.  V., 
pgg.  47,  and  51,  52.     1825." 


510  LIFE  OF  EEV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1821^ 

tion  was  broken  up  in  1828,  the  sisters  took  up 
their  remains  and  buried  them  in  the  graveyard 
of  Calvary  Convent.  Their  spiritual  director, 
Father  Derigault,  also  died  of  consumption  dur- 
ing that  time,  and  Bishop  Flaget,  who  loved 
him  dearly,  waited  on  him  day  and  night  for 
some  days  previous  to  his  death.  He  had  been 
buried  seventeen  months  when  the  sisters  left, 
and  his  mortal  remains  were  removed  to  St. 
Thomas'  Seminary  burying-ground. 

Unceasing  in  his  eiforts  for  the  education  of 
all  classes,  Father  JSTerinckx  had  long  cherished 
a  desire  of  establishing,  in  connection  with  his 
Society  of  the  Friends  of  Mary,  an  institute  of 
negro  sisters,  for  the  especial  education  of 
the  blacks,  whose  neglected  condition  in  ser- 
vitude no  one  more  sincerely  deplored.  With 
this  end  in  view,  he  had  caused  a  few  young 
negro  children  to  be  adopted  in  Loretto ;  and 
in  May,  1824,  he  exultingly  communicated 
to  Mother  Bibiana  the  good  news :  "  Two 
days  ago,  twelve  young  ladies  offered  them- 
selves at  Loretto  for  the  little  veil,  amongst 
them  our  three  blacks,  who  received  nearly  all 
the  votes !  Their  dress  is  to  be  different,  also 
the  offices  and  employment,  but  they  keep  the 
main  rules  of  the  society ;  they  will  take  the 
vows,  but  not  the  perpetual  ones,  before  twelve 
years  of  profession.    Their  rules  are  set  apart."  * 

That  this  charitable  plan  of  our  never  tiring 

*  MSS.  of  Loretto  Convent. 


1824.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHAELES  NERINCKX.  511 

missionary  was  nipped  in  the  bud,  with  another 
one  for  the  education  of  the  Indian  girls,  was 
owing  to  circumstances  which  we  shall  relate  in 
the  following  chapter. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

1824. 

Crowning  difficulties. — Rev.  Guy  Chabrat's  opposition  to  Father 
Nekinckx. — Father  Nerinckx  leaves  Kentucky. — His  farewell 

LETTER   TO  THE    SiSTERS  OF  LoRETTO. — He  GOES    TO  MISSOURI. He 

VISITS   Bethlehem,  Perry  Co. — His  death  at  Ste.  Genevieve, 
August  12,  1824. 

Persecution  is  the  common  fate  of  all  whom 
God  calls  to  an  extraordinary  degree  of  sanctity. 
As  we  have  had  occasion  to  see,  in  the  course  of 
this  biography,  this  perfecting  element  of  virtue 
had  not  been  wanting  to  the  faithful  priest ;  and, 
as  is  often  witnessed  in  ecclesiastical  history, 
the  crowning  persecution  in  his  life  was  caused, 
innocently,  we  may  hope,  by  the  very  ones  who 
ouo-ht  to  have  been  the  cheerino-  comforters  of 
Father  IS'erinckx'  declining  years. 

Rev.  Guy  Chabrat,  who  was  the  confessor  of 
Bethania  Convent,  had,  of  late,  forwarded  to  the 
Bishop  many  complaints  about  the  (in  his  opin- 
ion) uncalled-for  severity  of  Father  Nerinckx'  di- 
rection. He  was  also  trying  to  arrogate  to  him- 
self the  right  of  altering,  in  the  branch  estab- 
lishment which  he  directed,  the  rules  of  the 
Society  of  the  Friends  of  Mary ;  efforts  which 

(512) 


1824.]         LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  513 

Father  Nerinckx  opposed  all  the  more  strenuously 
from  the  fact  that  these  rules,  as  already  miti- 
gated, had  been  approved  of  by  the  sacred  con- 
gregation of  the  Propaganda,  and  indorsed  by 
His  Holiness,  Pius  VII.  Unwilling,  however, 
to  create  ill-feeling,  and  uselessly  to  perplex  the 
minds  of  the  sisters  by  clashing  opinions.  Father 
N^erinckx  avoided,  as  much  as  possible,  med- 
dling with  the  affairs  of  the  branch  houses,  and 
invariably  referred  to  the  Bishop  the  local  su- 
periors who  consulted  him  on  temporal  or  spir- 
itual matters  concerning  the  direction  of  their 
community.  "  I  wish  to  meddle  so  little,"  he 
writes  to  Mother  Bibiana,  December  23,  1823, 
"  that  I  never  set  my  foot  yet  at  Mount  Mary's 
since  the  sisters  have  been  there." 

Rev.  Mr.  Chabrat  censured  Father  Nerinckx' 
piety  as  visionary  and  overdone ;  he  urged  the 
removal  of  the  venerable  founder  from  his  of- 
fice of  Ecclesiastical  Superior  of  the  Loretto  So- 
ciety ;  and,  early  in  1824,  he  wrote  to  Bishop 
Flaget  a  lengthy  letter  in  which  he  enumerated 
all  his  complaints  against  Father  Nerinckx' 
style  of  piety,  censuring  him  for  excessive  rigor 
in  his  government  of  the  sisters'  communities, 
and  for  unnecessary  austerity  in  his  direction  of 
souls.  As  a  fact,  however.  Father  Nerinckx 
was  compelled  continually  to  restrain  the  fervor 
of  his  spiritual  daughters,  instead  of  forcing 
hard  obligations  on  them.  The  Bishop  was 
much  embarrassed  by  the  position  in  which  the 
letter  of  Rev.  Chabrat  placed  him,  for  he  held 


514  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [1824. 

l3oth  priests  in  great  esteem.  He  made  known 
to  Father  Nerinckx  the  complaints  made  against 
him,  but  left  his  future  course  to  his  own  pru- 
dence. Owing  to  the  persistent  and  strenuous 
opposition  of  the  Rev.  Guy  Chabrat,  their  holy 
founder  deemed  it  prudent  and  for  the  greater 
e-ood  of  relio-ion  to  leave  the  sisters  and  Ken- 
tucky ;  and,  seeing  in  this  disposition  of  Divine 
Providence  a  means  of  satisfying  his  thirst  for 
the  conversion  of  the  Indians,  he  resolved  upon 
ffoino;  to  Missouri.  This  resolution  he  communi- 
•cated  to  Right  Rev.  Fishop  Flaget,  in  answer 
to  the  letters  which  the  Bishop  had  communi- 
'Cated  to  him,  and  he  was  allowed  to  go. 

It  was  after  this  conclusion  had  been  reached, 
that  Father  Nerinckx  wrote  to  the  Superior  of 
Bethania  the  following  letter: 

"  Gethsemani,  lUli  of  May,  1824. 
^^Dear  Mother  Bibiana,  and  all  your  Sisters:  May 
GocVs  hest  blessing  abound  with  you  ! 
".  .  .  .  My  time  of  starting  on  the  in- 
tended journey  is  close  by,  and  I  feel  not  very 
able  at  present  to  undertake  it.  I  know  not 
what  consequences  it  will  have,  nor  whether  I 
will  ever  see  you  or  write  to  you  any  more. 
■God  will  dispose  of  it.  I  wish  you  all  to  join  in' 
prayers  with  me,  that  Almighty  God  may  for- 
give all  blunders,  ignorances,  and  excesses  I 
have  committed  during  the  thirty-eight  years 
which  I  have  passed  very  unworthily  and  un- 
profitably  in   the   ministry,  and  that   He   may 


1824.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  515 

grant  pardon  for  all  the  harm  I  have  done  these 
twelve  years  in  the  Society.  May  the  Lord  and 
His  Dear  Mother  be  merciful  unto  me,  as  on 
Mount  Calvary  they  were  unto  the  good  thief! 
.  .  .  Be  you  all  happy  in  life  here,  and  glori- 
ous after  death,  I  greet  you  all  in  the  Sacred 
Hearts  of  Jesus  and  Mary ! 

"  C.  I^fERINCKX, 

"P.  S.    Best   wishes   to   Rev.   Mr.    Chabrat, 

etc." 

How  the  humble  priest  communicated  his  in- 
tentions to  his  dear  children  of  Loretto,  is  told 
us  in  the  following  pathetic  account  given  us  by 
Sister  Isabella  Clarke,*  who  had  been   elected 

*  Sister  Isabella,  of  whose  early  vocation  to  the  Loretto  So- 
■ciety  we  had  already  occasion  to  speak,  was  a  saintly  soul,  whom 
I  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  in  1874.  Upon  being  told  that  I 
intended  to  write  the  life  of  the  venerable  founder  of  Loretto, 
tears  of  joy  and  gratitude  rolled  down  her  cheeks,  and  she  fur- 
nished the  writer  with  many  details  which  lend  interest  and 
charm  to  the  narrative.  She  died  the  death  of  the  just,  on  a  day 
which  Father  Nerinckx,  in  his  devotion  for  the  sufferings  of 
Jesus  and  sorrows  of  Mary,  had  set  apart  as  a  great  holiday 
of  his  Society— Good  Friday,  1875,  at  the  very  hour  when  Jesus 
Suffering  consummated  his  sacrifice  upon  the  Cross  on  Calvary. 
The  following  is  the  simple  yet  eloquent  notice  sent  me  of  her 
death : 

"Died  at  Loretto,  Marion  county,  Ky.,  on  Good  Friday,  1875, 
at  three  o'clock  in  the  evening,  after  intense  suffering,  Sister 
Isabella  Clarke." 

Sister  Isabella  was  born  in  1800,  near  Holy  Cross  church. 
Her  parents  were  Ignatius  Clarke  and  Aloysia  Hill.  She  re- 
ceived the  habit,  in  1815,  from  the  hands  of  Rev.  Father  Ner- 
inckx, founder  of  the  Society  of  the  Sisters  of  Loretto.  The 
deceased  was  local  Superior  of  the  Loretto  House,  and  Dear 
Mother  at  the  time  of  the  death  of  Father  Nerinckx.  She  v/as 
a  most  useful  member  of  the  Society,  and,  having  adorned  it 


616  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [1824, 

Superior  of  Loretto  that  same  year :  "  Some 
five  or  six  weeks  before  our  dear  and  lamented 
founder,  Rev.  Charles  Nerinckx,  left  Loretto,  he 
signified  to  us  his  intention  of  leaving  the  dio- 
cese ;  an  announcement  which  came  upon  us  like 
a  thunderbolt !  We  could  not,  would  not,  con- 
sent to  it,  although  we  had  for  some  time  per- 
ceived his  embarrassment  and  dejection,  which 
had  caused  us  much  anxiety.  To  convince  us 
of  the  necessity  of  his  going  he  read  to  us  part 
of  a  letter  of  eleven  pages,  which  he  had  re- 
ceived. (He  did  not  tell  us  from  whom  it  came.) 
Oh !  I  can  not  describe  the  language  and  force 
of  that  letter !  Among  other  things,  it  said, 
that  '  there  was  not  a  priest  in  the  diocese  will- 
ing to  hear  his  confession !'  .  .  .  He  then 
said  to  us :  '  You  see,  my  dear  children,  the  ne- 
cessity I  am  under  of  going  to  some  place  where 
I  can  go  to  confession,  and  be  able  to  do  a  little 
good,  for  it  is  evident  that  I  can  not  do  any 
thing  more  here.  As  God  gave  me,  so  have  I 
done  for  you.'  You  may  well  imagine  our  grief 
and  consternation;  no  words  of  mine  can  convey 
it.  Yet,  we  had  so  much  compassion  and  sym- 
pathy for  him  in  his  then  sad  situation,  that  we 
had  not  the  courage  to  oppose  his  decision,  ex- 
cept by  our  tears  and  grief,  joined  with  fervent 
prayers  to  our  dear  Lord  and  His  Blessed 
Mother  to  assist  and  protect  him,  and  send  him 
back  to  us." 

with  her  niiuiy  virtues  for  sixty  years,  she  died  in  peace,  sur- 
rounded by  her  sisters  in  religion. — R.  I.  P. 


1824.]         LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  517 

Before  leaving,  Father  Nerinckx  wrote  a  fare- 
well letter  to  the  sisterhood,  which  is  up  to  this 
day  read,  amidst  the  silent  tears  of  the  commun- 
ity, on  the  anniversary  of  his  departure  for  Mis- 
souri, and  which  we  here  insert  in  full.  The 
writing  betrays  great  emotion  and  bodily  weak- 
ness. 

FATHER  NERINCKX'  FAREWELL  LETTER. 
/.  M.  J. 

"LoRETTo,  2Wi  of  May,  1824. 
"  To  the  Bear  Mother,  Mothers  and  Sisters  of  the 
Loretto  House  and  Society,  all  hail! 
"  Being  about  to  start  on  my  intended  jour- 
ney, which  may  put  an  end  to  my  life,  and 
probably  to  any  intercourse  or  meddling  with 
the  Loretto  House  or  Society,  I  leave,  as  a  short 
farewell,  these  few  lines  to  the  Loretto  House, 
having  kept  this  place  as  a  home  since  it  was 
begun.  It  is  not  strange,  my  dear  sisters,  to 
iind  in  this  vale  of  tears,  that  mass  of  afflictions 
which  holy  Job  affirms  to  be  the  lot  of  all  born 
of  women :  multis  miseriis ;  of  that,  my  age  and 
condition,  is  to  me  a  present  and  sure  conviction. 
We  are  all,  having  been  children  of  wrath, 
doomed  to  drink  of  this  bitterness.  Still,  the 
Merciful  Lord,  the  darling  object  and  sweetness 
of  the  Loretto  devotion,  called,  and  truly  so,  the 
Man  of  Sorrows,  by  his  holy  passion  and  death, 
has  entirely  altered  this  unhappy  condition  into 
a  state  of  real  felicity  ;  since  he  has  set  apart  for 
us  such  a  great  weight  of  rewards  and  glory,  for 


518  LIFE  OF  EEV.  CHAELES  NERTNCKX.  r]s24. 

the  light  sufferings  of  a  momentary  life.  This 
reflection  prevents  me  from  making  any  remarks 
of  an  unpleasant  nature,  willing  to  bury  in  obliv- 
ion all  that  has  passed. 

"To  leave  you  some  knowledge  of  my  sixty- 
three  years  of  life,  which  are  to  me  as  many 
years  of  shame  and  confusion,  and  for  which  I 
entreat  you  to  obtain  for  me  by  your  prayers, 
some  months  of  true  and  real  repentance: 

"  I  had  the  happiness  to  be  born  of  religious 
parents,  being  the  oldest  of  seven  brothers  and 
seven  sisters,  of  which  the  greatest  number  were- 
blessed  with  a  religious  call,  nothwithstanding 
the  great  interruptions  caused  by  dreadful  revo- 
lutions, all  directed  against  religion.  I  thank 
God  for  His  mercies !  and  for  having  preserved 
our  family  from  joining  any  of  the  errors  and 
blunders,  of  which  thousands  have  been  the  vic- 
tims. I  was  sent  to  school  at  six  years  of  age  ;  to 
the  higher  studies  at  twelve,  going  through  the 
different  classes  of  humanity,  philosophy,  and  di- 
vinity, in  different  places,  but  mostly  at  Louvain 
and  Mechlin.  I  was  made  a  priest  at  twenty- 
four,  and  that  year  sent  as  under-pastor  to  our 
cathedral,  where  I  remained  eight  years.  In 
1794,  I  was  sent  as  parish  priest  to  a  place 
called  Meerbeke,  five  miles  from  Louvain.  The 
French  drove  me  from  here  three  years  after 
that,  having  given  a  -prise-de-corps  or  order  to 
take  me,  for  having  said  Mass  without  taking 
the  prescribed  declaration,  it  being  against  my 
religion  and  conscience.     From  that  I  sheltered 


1S24.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  >'ER1.NCKX.  51^ 

as  in  a  prison,  in  the  Hospital  of  Dendermonde,, 
where,  being  requested  to  do  so,  I  had  for  six 
years  the  spiritual  direction  of  nuns  and  sick ;  a 
thing  I  could  safely  do,  not  being  known  by  any 
one  and  never  coming  out  of  my  shelter.  In 
1804,  the  3d  of  July,  having  before  refused  an- 
other oath  asked  of  me  in  order  to  go  to  my  for- 
mer parish,  because,  with  the  advice  of  good  and 
learned  men,  I  found  it  contrary  to  conscience,  I 
started  for  America  with  letters  of  recommenda- 
tion to  the  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Carroll  from  the 
Princess  Grallitzin.  I  had  a  companion.  Rev. 
Mr.  Guny  of  the  Order  of  St.  Benedict,  of  Cam- 
bray,  who  intended  to  join  the  Trappist  Order  ; 
and  after  three  months  of  navigation  at  sea, 
amongst  storms,  sickness,  and  other  miseries, 
having  lost  forty-two  of  our  crew,  we  arrived  at 
Baltimore  the  14th  of  November. 

"  My  intention,  at  that  time,  was  to  go  to  any 
place,  even  Indians,  where  it  was  thought  I 
could  do  any  good.  The  Nuncio  of  the  Pope, 
Ciamberlani,  had  offered  me  to  go  to  his  mis- 
sions, the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  but  wanted  me 
to  have  a  companion  of  our  language,  which  I 
had  not.  The  College  of  the  Jesuits  of  George- 
town harbored  me  for  four  months ;  there  I 
picked  up  a  few  English  words.  I  then  went  to 
Conewago  to  meet  the  Trappist  monks,  with 
whom  I  left  that  place  for  Kentuck}^  I  arrived 
before  them,  the  2d  day  of  July,  1805,  at  the 
house  of  Rev.  S.  T.  Badin,  the  only  priest  in 
Kentucky  at  that  time.     I  staid  with  him  seven 


520  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [1824. 

years  without  any  disturbance,  having  leave 
from  him  to  act  in  my  places  and  stations  as  I 
thought  proper.  I  have,  with  God's  help  and 
some  alms  from  my  country,  built  some  churches 
and  procured  some  establishments  for  the 
church.  I  had,  also,  at  the  time,  made  an  at- 
tempt to  start  a  female  school  and  nunnery  at 
Holy  Mary's,  but  met  with  no  encouragement 
from  laity  or  clergy.  Rev.  Mr.  Badin  made  the 
second  trial  close  by  his  house ;  the  house, 
nearly  finished,  was  laid  in  ashes,  and  the  pro- 
ject disappeared. 

"At  the  end  of  my  seventh  year,  very  unex- 
pectedly, as  may  be  seen  in  my  advices,  another 
attempt  was  made  for  a  female  school  at  St. 
Charles.  It  took  root,  and  grew  to  what  it  is 
now,  without  any  man  having  much  claim  to 
its  rise.  About  this  time,  I  left  Rev.  Mr. 
Badin,  as  my  presence  seemed  to  be  necessary 
-at  Loretto,  being  stationary  priest  of  St.  Charles 
congregation.  The  Society  began  in  1812.  In 
1816,  I  went  to  Rome  by  Loretto.  In  1820,  I 
took  another  trip  to  Europe  for  the  benefit  of 
the  Society,  for  some  difficulties  in  the  ministry, 
etc.  It  is  now  (1824)  better  than  twelve  years 
that  I  have  had  the  charge  of  the  Society,  but 
particularly  of  the  Loretto  House,  except  three 
years  and  the  half  of  absence,  not  without  diffi- 
culties and  contradictions.  As  I  never  was  fit 
for  any  charge  or  any  part  of  the  ministry, 
which,  before  God  and  men,  I  freely  grant  and 
agree  to,  I  am  willing,  to  believe  that  the  cause 


1824.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  521 

of  all  the  difficulties  and  uneasiness  originated 
from  me,  for  which  I  beg  to  be  pardoned  by  Al- 
mighty Grod,  the  congregations,  and  the  Society. 

"  Being  once  more  proscribed  from  my  native 
country,  in  1822,  by  the  Holland  government, 
not,  I  hope,  for  crimes  before  Grod,  and  my  pres- 
ent situation  having  become  unpleasant,  and,  as 
far  as  I  know,  unprofitable  or  perhaps  injurious 
to  religion,  I  am  under  the  necessity  of  gather- 
ing, at  sixty-three,  my  strength  of  forty-three 
years  and  go  to  a  new  region.  I  feel  no  less 
resolution  of  mind,  but  I  know  not  whether  my 
strength  of  body  will  hold  out.  However,  I  in- 
tend to  make  the  trial,  with  God's  assistance. 

"  You  have  here  a  short  detail  of  the  poor  life 
of  an  unworthy  priest,  who  has  been  in  this 
country  for  about  nineteen  years,  twelve  years 
about  the  Loretto  Society,  and,  in  all,  thirty- 
nine  in  the  ministry.  It  is  unnecessary  to  tell 
you,  my  dear  sisters  in  Christ,  what  a  hard  and 
terrible  judgment  this  poor  wretch  will  shortly 
meet  with,  on  account  of  his  temerity  in  the 
holy  ministry,  w^ithout  any  regard  to  his  own 
corruption,  knowing  that  it  is  said :  judicium  du- 
rissiinum  his  qui  praesunt  fiet — very  hard  will  the 
judgment  be  for  those  that  are  in  authority.  I 
beg  of  you  to  have  pity  on  me  ! 

"Should  you  ask  me  now  my  principal  mo- 
tives for  leaving  these  parts,  and  what  I  am 
going  to  do  next  ?  Although  there  be  no  real 
profit  or  necessity  in  the  answers  to  those  que- 


522  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [1824! 

ries,  I  see  no  great  impropriety  in  them,  consider- 
ing  that  the  long  knowledge  you  have  of  their 
nature  will  justify  the  harmless  curiosity.  I  say 
then,  if  I  know  myself,  that  three  great  causes 
urge  me  to  move :  1.  The  impossibility  of  hold- 
ing out  for  want  of  temporals,  having  no  help 
but  from  Europe.  2.  The  sake  of  peace,  which 
is  already  somewhat  interrupted,  and,  in  my 
opinion,  will  always  be  tottering  with  the  clergy 
and  the  Society.  3.  The  rest  and  tranquillity  of 
conscience,  which  I  can  not  have  here  on  ac- 
count of  difficulties  in  practice  which  are  lately 
come  or  surely  increased,  for  which,  it  seems,  no 
remedy  can  be  obtained.  These  are  the  main 
motives  :  if  these  could  be  cured,  the  rest  might 
be  neglected. 

"As  to  my  views  and  intentions,  they  are  not 
yet  decided  or  really  settled.  I  will  take 
Providence  for  guide ;  that  Providence  which 
brought  me  in  and  will  carry  me  out,  and  has  pre- 
sided over  the  whole  course  of  my  life  ;  I  always 
find  myself  safe  and  easy  with  It.  It  was  even 
so  the  case  with  the  Apostles  and  numbers  of 
their  followers.  Still,  some  of  the  intentions 
which  strike  my  mind  are  the  following : 

"  God's  will  at  the  head,  and  His  honor. 

"The  propagation  of  the  devotion  to  Jesus 
suffering  and  Mary  sorrowing. 

"  The  Hospital  Sisters. 

"  The  orphans  assistance. 

"  The  conversion  of  Indians. 


1824.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  523 

"  The  preservation  of  the  institute's  zeal  and 
purity ;  its  propagation  ;  its  consolidation. 

"  The  providing  of  its  brotherhood  by  it& 
j^resent  directors. 

"  The  jDeace  with  colleagues. 

"  The  settling  .of  conscience. 

"  The  preparation  for  death.     .     .     .     BuriaL 

"  Final  penance. 

"  The  Flemish  mission. 

"  The  heremitical  life. 

"  The  fixing  of  my  writings. 

"  The  salvation  of  the  blacks. 

"All  this,  or  part  of  it,  if  I  can  suit,  and  God 
thinks  fit. 

"  You  see  here  a  great  number  of  intentions 
for  old  age,  weak  body,  and  poor  soul,  with 
scanty  talents.  The  work  can  not  be  much  \ 
yet  the  will  may  please  God  still.  God's  designs, 
always  adorable  and  good,  ought  to  be  fiulfilled, 
however  opposed  to  our  feelings  and  opinions  or 
notions. 

"My  will  I  leave  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  Thomas 
Livers.  I  leave  to  the  establishments  what  they 
are  at  present  in  possession  of,  excejot  what  I 
may  need  for  my  new  undertakings,  if  any  take 
place.  This,  I  think,  can  not  be  before  the  Fall 
or  next  Spring. 

"  If  you  inquire  whether  I  know  what  will 
become  of  you  ?  this,  I  can  not  tell.  But,  from 
my  present  experience,  from  the  nature  of 
things  and  from  the  condition  of  man,  without 
j)retending  to  any  revelation  or  gift  of  prophecy^ 


524  LIFE  OF  KEV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [1824. 

there  is  not  a  spark  of  doubt  in  my  mind  but 
jou  will  undergo  great  changes  from  your  pres- 
ent state,  which  the  far  greatest  number  of  you 
looks  upon  as  happy ;  you  must  only  pray  that 
what  is  to  come  may  be  for  the  better ;  it  was 
not  in  my  power  to  do  more  or  better  for  you. 
^s  Grod  gave  me,  so  I  did  for  poor  Society. 

"As  to  advice,  for  which  you  have  so  often  ap- 
plied, I  hardly  know  what  to  say.  There  never 
was  a  man  who  stood  more  in  need  of  it  him- 
self, and  none  who  was  less  able  to  give  advice. 
The  directions  which  have  been  given  by  word 
or  writing  have  proved  to  be  unbecoming,  too 
particular,  and  full  of  incorrectness,  not  to  men- 
tion worse  appellations  which  have  been  applied 
to  them.  I  see  no  good  or  propriety  in  giving 
any,  being  sure  that  they  would  meet  with  op- 
position at  the  first  glance.  However,  I  can  say 
that  the  whole  sum  of  all  my  words  and  writ- 
ings is  nearly  contained  in  the  Morning  Manna* 
read  every  day  before  Mass,  with  which  I  desire 
you  always  to  comply. 

"  I  wish  to  leave  you  a  short  paraphrase  of 
the  standard  of  the  Society,  which  I  beg  you  to 
say,  now  and  then,  for  poor  old 

"  C.  Nerinckx." 

The  Suffering  JESUS 

AND 

The  Sorrowful  Mary 

BLESS  us  ALL  ! 

Farewell  ! ! 

*  See  Chapter  XXX. 


1824.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  525 

Eather  Nerinckx  left  Loretto,  June  16,  1824, 
accompanied   by   Brother    James   Van    Ryssel- 
berghe.     On  his  way  to  Missouri,  he  stopped  a 
day  in  Union  county,  with  the  Rev.  Mr.  Durbin ; 
and  then  went  by  way  of  Shawneetown  to  the 
Barrens.     After  a  laborious  journey  of  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty  leagues  on  horseback,  the  diffi- 
culties of  which  were  materially  increased   by 
his  wretched  state  of  health,  he  reached  the  con- 
vent of  his  sisters  in  Bethlehem,  Perry  county, 
Mo.,  July  2,  1824.     '•  The  sisters  were  not  ex- 
pecting him  ;  he  stepped  into  the  hall,  and  thus 
took  them  by  surprise.     They  were  wild  with  de- 
lio-ht.     Havino-  allowed  them  a  few  minutes  to 
give   vent   to   their   feelings.    Father  Nerinckx 
bent  his  way  to  their  chapel,  and  all  followed 
him.     He  gave  the  Benediction  of  the  Blessed 
Sacrament,    and    a    nice    little    instruction,    in 
which   he   repeated   several  times  that  he  had 
come  to  finish  his  days  with  them,  the  Sisters 
of  Bethlehem,  and  have  his  bones  laid  in  their 
graveyard,  supposing   they  would  allow  him  a 
place  there."  * 

He  then  went  to  the  Seminary  of  the  Barrens, 
where  he  remained  a  few  weeks.  "  During  his 
stay  he  frequently  visited  the  sisters,  gave  many 
instructions,  exhortations,  etc.,  and  appeared  ta 
be  animated  with  even  more  than  his  usual  zeal. 
Durino-  one  of  his  exhortations  he  foretold  that 
the  period  which  would  put  an  end  to  his  mortal 
career  was  fast  approaching ;  that  in  a  few  days^ 

*  Reminiscences  of  Sister  Eulalia. 


^26  I^lFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [1824. 

he  would  cease  to  be  an  inhabitant  of  this  earth  ; 
that  he  would  be  the  first  to  be  buried  in  the  sis- 
ter's graveyard,  and  he  declared  he  would  die  at 
the  distance  of  about  twenty  miles  from  the 
Seminary.  The  event  subsequently  verified  the 
prediction."  *  He  also  often  said  Mass  in  the 
•convent  chapel,  "  and,  on  one  occasion,  his  suffer- 
ings were  innocently  increased  by  an  involuntary 
mistake  of  the  sister  sacristan,  who  gave  him 
what  she  thought  to  be  wine  for  the  Holy  Sacri- 
fice, but  which  proved  to  be  some  poisonous 
•drug  left  in  a  bottle."  f 

On  the  26th  of  July,  Father  Nerinckx  left 
the  Barrens  early  in  the  morning,  and  said  Mass 
in  the  convent  chapel  for  the  last  time.  He  gave 
the  relio-ous  habit  to  the  Misses  Mary  Stewart  and 
Elizabeth  Tucker,  the  last  sisters  who  received 
it  from  the  hands  of  their  venerable  founder, 
and  he  made  a  final  exhortation  to  the  commun. 
ity.  "  He  declared  in  a  very  impressive  man- 
ner, it  would  be  the  last  they  would  receive  from 
him;  he  pointed  out  in  a  precise  manner  the 
changes  which  would  take  place  after  his  death, 
and  many  events  which  have  since  occurred; 
but  at  the  same  time  he  ordered  the  community 
of  Bethlehem  to  obey  in  every  point  their  Right 
Rev.  Bishop,  Joseph  Rosati,  for  whom  he  ex- 
pressed the  most  tender,  the  most  sincere  friend- 
ship,   and   in   whom    he    placed    confidence."  J 

*  Record  of  St.  Louis  Cathedi\al.     Sup.  Cit. 

f  Remini.scences  of  Sister  Eulalia. 

J  Record  of  St.  Louis  Cathedral.     Sup.  Cit. 


1824.]         LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  527 

After  breakfast  he  conversed  awhile  with  the 
teachers,  whom  he  had  directed  to  write  a  letter 
to  the  Blessed  Virgin  which  he  would  himself 
present  to  their  dear  Mother,  the  Queen  of 
Heaven ;  and  having  made  several  ineffectual 
attempts  to  leave,  he  finally  broke  away  from 
them,  with  a  "  God  bless  you  !  Pray  for  me !  " 
jumped  into  the  saddle  and  was  off  for  St  Louis. 
Bishop  Dubourg,  upon  taking  charge  of  the 
See  of  New  Orleans,  had  consecrated  the  Right 
Kev.  Joseph  Rosati,  as  his  successor  in  St. 
Louis,  in  the  beginning  of  April,  1824.  Father 
IS'erinckx  applied  to  Bishop  Rosati  for  the  most 
needy  and  forsaken  mission  of  his  diocese,  for, 
in  his  humility,  he  believed  himself  no  longer 
suited  to  be  at  the  head  of  an  important  parish, 
or  to  direct  the  community  of  sisters  he  had 
founded.  From  St.  Louis,  he  went  to  Floris- 
sant, sixteen  miles  north-west  of  this  city,  and 
near  the  Bluffs  of  the  Missouri  river,  in  order 
to  visit  the  new  establishment  of  Flemish 
Jesuits,  most  of  whom  had  come  over  with  him 
from  Belgium  on  his  last  trip,  in  1821,  and  he 
spent  a  few  days  with  Father  Van  Quicken- 
borne  and  his  young  friends  in  edifying  fervor 
and  holy  joy  at  the  encouraging  prospects  of  the 
mission  which  they  had  come  to  fulfill  among 
the  Indians.  Thence  he  returned  to  St.  Louis, 
and,  whilst  on  a  visit  to  the  Indian  agent,  he 
had  the  pleasure  of  an  interview  with  a  savage 
chief,  and  made  arrangements  with  them  to 
send  twelve  Indian  girls  to  Bethlehem;  as  soon 


528  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [1824. 

as  their  education  was  completed,  others  were 
to  take  their  place  with  the  sisters,  and  the 
number  of  twelve  kept  up,  the  government  to 
pay  the  tuition.  Elated  at  the  success  of  this 
his  most  cherished  plan,  and  calculating,  with 
a  saint's  shrewdness,  that  this  annual  income 
would  enable  the  sisters  to  take  care  of  a  larger 
number  of  orphans,  he  wrote  to  the  Mother  of 
Bethlehem  to  have  a  house  put  up  immediately 
for  the  accommodation  of  the  little  Indians,  and 
then  and  there  received  thirty-six  orphans  to  be 
sent  to  Perry  county.  The  house  was  built,  but 
the  Indian  girls  never  came,  owing  to  Father 
Nerinckx'  death.  But  the  thirty-six  orphans 
and  a  helpless  old  lady  did  come ;  they  were 
their  father's  last  legacy,  and  the  sisters  took 
Ihem  in,  loved  them  for  his  sake,  and  under- 
went most  heroic  privations  to  provide  for  them 
during  the  live  years  of  their  stay. 

Having  received  leave  to  exercise  the  func- 
tions of  the  holy  ministry  in  Bishop  Rosati's 
diocese,  Father  Nerinckx  was  advised  to  return 
to  Bethlehem  Convent,  and  perfect  the  arrange- 
ments for  his  new  foundation  of  Indian  girls, 
before  taking  possession  of  au}^  particular  mis- 
sion, and  thither  he  set  out  on  horseback,  on  the 
2d  of  August.  He  made  haste  to  carry  to  his 
beloved  sisters  the  good  news  of  their  increas- 
ino-  usefulness.  "  His  heart  burned  within 
him,"  writes  Bishop  Flaget,*  "whilst  his  imagi- 

*  Letter  of  Bishop  Flaget  to  Bishop  England.     U.  S.  Catholic 
Miscellany,  December  6,  18124. 


1824.]         LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  529 

nation    pictured    to   itself    the   good  prospects 
v/hich  lay  open  to  his  hopes.     On  his  road,  how- 
ever, was  a  path  to  a  settlement  of  eight  or  ten 
catholic  families  who  had  not  seen  a  priest  for 
more  than  two  years.     Desirous  of  doing  all  the 
good  in  his  power,  he   assembled   them,  heard 
their  confessions,"  gave    them   instructions,   and 
celebrated  the  holy  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass.     He 
was  thus  occupied  from  a  little  after  daybreak 
until   toward   three   o'clock   p.    m.     Seeing   the 
good    dispositions   of    those    catholics,    he    pro- 
posed to  them  to  build  a  church,  in  order  to  en- 
courage priests  to  come  to  them.     A   subscrip- 
tion was  immediately  opened  by  those  present  ;. 
out  of  his  small  means  he  gave  $10.00,  and  sig- 
natures for  over  nine  hundred  were  instantly  af- 
fixed to  the  sheet.     After  this  exertion  in  such 
broiling  weather,  he  felt  feverish  symptoms,  and 
complained  to  Brother  Van  Rysselberghe  of  be- 
ing unwell.     He  had  promised  the  people  to  say 
Mass   the  following  day  at  nine  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  but   was   so   ill   that   he   deferred   it. 
The   following   morning  he  was  a  little  better, 
and  said  an  early  Mass.     He  then  told  Brother 
James  Van  Rysselberghe  that  he  thought  he  was 
able  to  go  to  St.  Genevieve,  which  was   about 
twelve  miles  distant.    When  they  arrived  there, 
he  was  not  able  to  stand.     He  was  received  by 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Dahmen  *  with  great  kindness  and 
affection.     On  the  Sunday  following,  which  was^ 

*  Father  Dahmen  was  a  Lazarist. 


530  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [1824. 

the  8th  of  August,  Brother  James  assisted  hiin 
into  the  chapel,  where  he  heard  Mass.  During 
Sunday  and  part  of  Monday,  he  was  not  very 
ill,  until  about  two  or  three  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon, when  he  was  taken  by  a  violent  fever, 
"which  was  so  severe  that,  on  Tuesday,  he  was 
quite  unable  to  do  any  thing  for  himself.  On 
Wednesday,  he  was  worse.  Three  physicians 
were  called  in  by  Brother  James  to  hold  a  con- 
sultation, but  they  could  afford  him  no  relief; 
they  said  he  would  surely  die.  On  Thursday 
morning,  between  eight  and  nine  o'clock,  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Dahmen  assisted  him  for  death,"  and 
gave  him  the  last  sacraments;  and,  "at  five  in 
the  evening  of  the  same  day,  August  12,  1824, 
Father  Nerinckx  expired,*  in  the  sixty-third 
year  of  his  age. 

"  Bishop  Flaget  was  greatly  affected  by  the 
intelligence  of  Father  Nerinckx'  death.  He  de- 
livered in  the  cathedral  a  glowing  eulogy  of  the 
good  missionary's  life,  and  held  him  up  as  a 
model  of  every  virtue.  Some  years  previously 
(in  1815)  he  had  recorded  the  following  estimate 
of  the  character  of  the  deceased  in  his  journal: 

'"If  the  good  Mr.  Nerinckx  had  done  nothing 
else  but  to  establish  the  Sisterhood  of  Loretto  in 
this  country,  nothing  more  would  have  been  neces- 
sary to  assure  him  of  salvation  at  the  moment 
of  death.    But  when  we  add  to  this  the  immense 

*  Letter  of  Sister  Ann,  of  Calvary,  to  Rev.  John  Nerinckx,  of 
.Somerstown,  and   to   his   sister.     London   Catholic  Miscellany, 

J^pril,  1825. 


1824.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  531 

labors  of  his  apostolate,  it  is  then  that  we  are 
led  to  bless  thee,  oh  Lord !  for  raising  up  such 
men  in  these  unhappy  times,  to  serve  as  models 
to  their  contemporaries.'  "  * 

Father  Nerinckx'  visit  at  the  Barrens,  al- 
though short,  had  also  left  a  great  impression  of 
his  sanctity  upon  the  Lazarist  Fathers.  Shortly 
after  his  death.  Rev.  Odin,  afterward  Arch- 
bishop of  New  Orleans,  wrote  to  a  friend  in 
France:  "The  12th  of  August,  the  good 
God  has  taken  away  from  us  a  very  saintly 
priest,  a  great  missionary,  Mr.  ^^erinckx,  who 
came  out  here  from  Flanders;  .  .  .  the 
labors  which  he  has  performed  for  the  extension 
of  the  faith  are  incredible.  .  .  ."  And  after 
enumerating  his  works  he  adds  :  "In  the  middle 
of  last  July,  he  came  to  visit  our  sisters.  Oh ! 
how  I  loved  to  be  with  him !  He  prescribed  for 
me  all  sorts  of  little  practices  for  the  advance- 
ment of  souls,  communicated  to  me  all  that  his 
own  experience  had  discovered  to  be  most  ad- 
vantageous for  the  conversion  of  heretics ;  and, 
above  all,  he  spoke  to  me  frequently  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin.  .  .  .  His  holy  life  was 
crowned  with  a  no  less  precious  death.  Our 
Barrens  have  the  honor  of  possessing  his  body 
He  is  interred  in  the  cemetery  of  our  sisters. 
We  regret  him  very  much."  f 

*Life  of  Bishop  Flaget,  by  Right  Rev.  M.  J.  Spalding,  pg. 
1>40. 

t  Letter  of  Mr.  Odin  to  Mr.  Cholleton,  V.  G.  of  the  diocese  of 
Lyons.     Annales  de  la  Propagation  de  la  Foi,  Vol.  2.,  pg.  369. 

Says  Rev.  Father  Bessonies,  V.  G.  of  the  diocese  of  Vincennes: 


532  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [1824, 

God  had  ordered  that  Father  Nerinckx  should 
give  u]3  in  his  heart  the  Loretto  Society,  his  own 
child,  the  only  thing  he  was  attached  to  in  this 
world.  Like  Abraham  who  was  ordered  to  sacri- 
fice his  only  son,  and  was  rewarded  for  his  faith 
and  obedience  before  the  holocaust  was  consum- 
mated, Father  Nerinckx  had  made  the  sacrifice, 
and,  on  his  way  to  greet  for  the  last  time  the 
last  house  of  his  dear  children,  the  Friends  of 
Mary,  he  died  and  was  buried  in  their  midst. 

"  Father  Nerinckx  was  a  noted  man  in  the  catholic  church  in  its 
early  days.  .  .  .  He  told  his  parishioners  that  when  bitten 
by  rattlesnakes  they  should  come  to  him  to  be  cured.  .  He  gave 
no  medicine ;  merely  blessed  them,  and  they  departed  cured. 
After  he  had  left  Kentucky  and  gone  to  the  Far  West,  it 
is  said  the  bells  chimed  one  night  without  the  help  of  mor- 
tal hands,  and  it  was  found  that  he  had  died  at  that  very  hour 
in  his  new  location.  Ahl  he  was  a  Saint  I" — Indianapolis  News,. 
1878. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

1824. 

Burial  at  the  Barrens,  Mo.—"  Father  Nerinckx  is  in  Heaven!" 
— Removal  of  his  remains  to  Loretto,  Kt.— His  Epitaph. — 
Supernatural  Events.— Rev.  Chabrat  again.— Tributes  to 
Father  Nerinckx'  memory.— Loretto  convent  removed  to  his 
first  residence,  Marion  county,  Ky. 

"Brother  James  had,"  at  Father  Nerinckx' 
desire,  "sent  for  Right  Rev.  Rosati  to  come  and 
see  the  reverend  father  before  he  died,  but  the 
Bishop  came  too  hite.  He  arrived  on  Friday 
morning,  and,  finding  him  dead,  told  them  not  to 
bury  him  at  that  place,  but  to  take  his  corpse  to 
Bethlehem,  and  bury  him  where  the  sisters 
were,  and  that  he  himself  would  go  on  before 
and  tell  the  sisters  that  their  father  and  founder 
was  dead,  and  that  his  corpse  would  be  brought 
there  that  night."*  But  Father  Dahmen  en- 
treated the  Bishop  to  honor  the  funeral  proces- 
sion by  his  presence,  and  he  sent  a  member  of 
his  congregation  with  the  sad  message  to  Perry 
county. 

On  the  night  of  Father  Nerinckx'  death,  a 

*  Letter  of  Sister  Ann,  already  cited.     London  Catholic  Mis- 
cellany, April,  1825. 

(533) 


534  LIFE  OF  EEV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1S24. 

very  remarkable  incident  had  taken  place  at  the 
Convent  of  Bethlehem :  "  Sisters  Benedicta 
Fenwick  and  Mechtildis  Hayden  were  making 
the  hour's  adoration  of  the  Most  Holy  Sacra- 
ment, when  the  latter,  hastily  rising  off  her 
knees,  went  to  Sister  Benedicta  and  said  to  her 
in  a  low  voice :  '  Father  ISTerinckx  is  dead,  I 
know  he  is.  He  is  now  in  the  presence  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin  whom  he  so  tenderly  loved  on 
earth  ;  and,  in  a  short  time,  I  shall  follow.'  * 
Sister  Mechtildi&  had  been  suffering  for  a  long 
time  from  a  cancer  in  the  head,  and  was  so  very 
sick  with  consumption  that  she  had  to  remain 
in  bed  the  next  day.  On  the  evening  of  that 
day,  August  13th,  1824,  and  whilst  the  corpse 
w^as  being  brought  from  Ste.  Genevieve,  a  similar 
scene,  as  strongly  savoring  of  the  suj^ernatural, 
and  the  truth  of  which  is  vouched  for  by  Sister 
Eulalia  Kelly,  who  was  an  eye-witness  to  the 
fact,  occurred  toward  nine  o'clock,  p.  M.  Sister 
Mechtildis  got  out  of  bed  and  began  running 
about  the  house,  singing :  '  Praises  to  the  Lord ! 
Our  dear  Father  Nerinckx  is  in  heaven  !  Alle- 
luia ! '  Thinking  that  her  suffering  had  made 
the  poor  sister  light  in  the  head,  her  companions 
did  all  they  could  to  quiet  her ;  but  to  all  their 
entreaties  she  only  answered :  '  Father  Ner- 
inckx  is  in  heaven ! '  About  a  quarter  of  an 
hour  later,  the  messenger  from  Ste.  Genevieve 
actually  arrived,  and  brought  them  the  first 
news  of  the  death  of  their  founder,  adding  that 

*  Record  oi  St.  Louis  CathedraL     Sup.  Cit. 


18:24.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  535- 

the  funeral  procession  was  on  its  way  to  Bethle- 
hem, and  would  arrive  there  some  time  during 
the  night. 

"  The  sisters  immediately  repaired  to  the 
Seminary  church,  and  passed  the  night  in  pray- 
ers, sighs,  and  thanksgivings,  until  the  arrival 
of  the  episcopal"  escort  at  two  o'clock,  a.  m.,, 
with  the  mortal  remains,  which  were  deposited 
in  the  church.  Brother  James  Van  Ryssel- 
berghe,  who  had  attended  Father  Nerinckx  ever 
since  he  left  Kentucky,  acceded,  the  next  morn- 
ing, to  the  pleadings  of  the  sisters,  and  raised  the 
lid  of  the  coffin  to  give  them  a  chance  to  behold 
once  more  the  features  of  the  dear  departed  ;  but 
they  had  scarcely  time  to  satisfy  this  pious  wish, 
for  the  seminarians  having  heard  that  Father 
Nerinckx  had  died  of  yellow  fever,  instantly 
forced  down  the  lid,  for  fear  of  propagating  the 
disease. 

"The  funeral  obsequies  were  celebrated  on 
Saturday  morning,  August  14th,  Rev.  Father 
Odin,  of  the  Barrens,  singing  a  Solemn  High 
Mass,  in  the  presence  of  the  Bishop  of  St.  Louis, 
who,  being  too  fatigued  from  the  effects  of  his 
journey  on  horseback,  could  not  do  so  himself. 
He,  however,  performed  the  absolution  over  the 
corpse,  and  preached  a  moving  sermon  on  the  oc- 
casion ;  the  corpse  was  then  committed  to  its 
final  resting-place  in  the  graveyard  of  the  sis- 
ters. '  But  Brother  James  Van  Rysselberghe, 
who  had  been  so  faithful  to  Father  Nerinckx 
during  the  course  of  their  journey,  and  who  had 


536  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1824. 

attended  him  constantly  day  and  night  while  he 
was  sick,  engaged  some  persons  to  build  a  tomb 
for  him ;  and,  on  the  Monday  following,  which 
was  the  16th  of  August,  1824,  the  remains  were 
taken  out  of  the  ground,  and  inclosed  in  the 
tomb.'  "  * 

"I  have  said  nothing,"  writes  Sister  Eulalia, 
^'  of  the  sisters  heartrending  grief  at  the  death 
of  Father  Nerinckx.  It  can  not  be  told,  and  no 
pen  can  describe  it.  The  sobs,  which  they  in 
vain  tried  to  smother,  bore  testimony  of  their 
grief,  their  filial  affection,  and  their  sense  of  their 
great  loss.  When  his  tomb  was  about  being 
•closed,  they  all  surrounded  it,  and  each  one 
placed  in  it  some  little  memento.  Every  day 
after  dinner,  for  months  after,  all  the  sisters  and 
l^upils  went  in  procession  to  his  tomb  to  offer 
prayers  for  the  repose  of  his  soul ;  yet  we  felt 
more  like  praying  to  him,  and  asking  his  inter- 
cession with  God  for  ourselves.  I  have  often 
heard  the  good  Bishop  Rosati  say  he  considered 
the  remains  of  Father  Nerinckx  as  the  most 
precious  thing  in  his  diocese,  and  that,  though 
the  saintly  Bishop  Flaget  and  the  Superiors  of 
Loretto  were  constantly  writing  to  him  for  per- 
mission to  bring  them  to  Loretto,  he  would 
never  grant  that  permission." 

Yet,  after  nine  years  of  pleading,  their  perse- 
verance overcame  his  determination,  and  the 
long-desired  treasure  was  taken  up  by  Brother 
Charles  Gilbert,  of  Loretto,  one  of  Father  Nev- 

*  Letter  of  Sister  Ann.     Sup.  Cit. 


1824.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  537 

inckx'  most  enthusiastic  admirers,  on  December 
16,  1833,  and  carried  to  Loretto,  Marion  county, 
Ky.  When  he  approached  the  main  entrance, 
Brother  Gilbert  sent  word  to  the  Superior ;  the 
convent  bell  was  tolled,  and  the  whole  community 
went  out  to  receive  the  mortal  remains  of  their 
cherished  father.  '  Mother  Josephine  Kelly  and 
Mother  Generose  Mattingly  had  the  happiness 
of  carrying  the  precious  relics  to  the  church,  a 
melancholy  pleasure  and  honor  which  they 
never  forgot.  And  thus,  where  the  humble  pio- 
neer missionary  first  pitched  his  tent,  his  spirit- 
ual children,  who  had  since  removed  to  that 
spot,  erected  the  monument  of  his  well-earned 
glory. 

The  body  was  deposited  in  a  suitable  tomb, 
situated  in  the  center  of  the  Loretto  conventual 
graveyard.  It  was  built  of  brick,  covered  with 
plain  oak  plank,  painted  and  sanded  in  imita- 
tion of  stone,  and  surmounted  by  a  large  fune- 
real urn.  On  each  side  of  the  brick- work  was  a 
projecting  tablet  with  suitable  inscriptions. 

Subsequently,  this  was  replaced  by  a  white 
marble  monument,  the  base  of  which  is  a  paral- 
lelogram, about  six  feet  long  by  three  feet  wide. 
The  upper  slab  is  adorned  with  a  cross,  at  the 
foot  of  which  is  engraved : 

t 

Blessed  are  the  dead  who 
DIE  IN  THE  Lord. 

—Rev.  14 :  13. 


538  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [1824. 

On  the  sides  are  engraved  the  following  in- 
scriptions : 

At  the  head : 

LORETTO'S  MITE 
OF 

Esteem  and  Veneration 
FOR  ITS  Founder. 


Do  NOT  FORSAKE 

Providence, 
AND  He  will  never 

FORSAKE  YOU. C.  ^. 

On  the  foot-end  of  the  monument,  facing  it,, 

we  read : 

Requiescat 

in  pace. 

Precious  in  the  sight  of  the 

Lord,  is  the  death  of  His  Saints. 

—Ps.  115. 
On  the  right  side : 

In  memory  of 
REV.  CHARLES  NERI^^CKX, 
A  NATIVE  OF  Flanders,  who  died  August  12, 1824,  in 
Missouri.      His    remains   were    translated    tq 
Kentucky,  in  1833,  by  Brother  Charles  Gilbert, 

AT  the  request  OF  THE  LoRETTO  SoCIETY,  AND  IN- 
TERRED AT  THIS  PLACE  BY  RiGHT  ReV.  BiSHoP 
FlAGET,  AND    THE    ReV.    G.    J.    ChABRAT,    SUPERIOR 

OF  THE  Society. 
On  the  left  side : 

MR.  NERINCKX 

Came  to  Kentucky  in  1805,  and  devoted  himself 
zealously  to  that  laborious  mission,  during 
which  time,  he  avas  nominated  to  the  diocese  of 
New   Orleans.     But   he  refused  that   dignity, 

AND,    IN    1812,    HE,    with    THE    APPROBATION    OF     THE 

Holy  See,  instituted  the  Lorettines,  or  Friends 
OF  Mary,  and  died  in  performing  the  visitation 
OF  the  Order,  at  Ste.  Genevieve,  Missouri,  aged 
sixty-three. 


1824.]         LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  539 

Thoii2:li  will  ins:  that  the  Loretto  Mother- 
House  should  possess  Father  Nerinckx'  remains^ 
the  Sisters  of  Bethlehem  felt  sorely  aggrieved 
at  parting  with  them,  and  asked  to  be  allowed 
to  retain  some  memento  of  their  founder.  The 
request  was  granted,  and  Brother  Gilbert  left 
them  the  lower  bone  of  the  right  hand's  middle 
finger,  which  Mother  Superior  temporarily  de- 
posited on  the  shelf  of  a  closet,  enveloped  in  a 
piece  of  paper.  Sister  Margaret  (now  of  Cape 
Girardeau)  cleaning  house,  one  day,  inadvert- 
ently threw  that  little  parcel,  together  with 
some  sweepings,  into  the  tire,  when  the  thomght 
struck  her  that  that  must  have  been  the  greatly 
prized  relic  of  Father  Nerinckx.  Greatly  dis- 
tressed in  mind,  and  alarmed  at  what  she  con- 
sidered a  great  fault  of  carelessness,  and  at  the 
sorrow  the  accident  would  cause  to  the  sisters, 
she  went  to  examine  the  ashes  in  the  hearth 
(that  being  all  that  was  left  of  what  she  had 
thrown  into  the  fire),  as  people  will  sometimes 
almost  unconsciously  act  although  convinced  of 
the  inutility  of  their  search,  when,  to  her  amaze- 
ment, she  actually  found  the  bone,  enveloped  in 
the  paper,  untouched  !  * 

This  event  created  quite  a  sensation  in  the 
community,  and  augmented,  if  that  were  pos- 
sible, the  veneration  they  entertained  for  the 
blessed  memory  of  their  saintly  founder.  They, 
however,  abstained  from  all  outside  comment  on 

*  Reminiscences  of  Sister  Isabella  Clarke. 


540  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [1824. 

the  subject,  when  a  more  astonishing  occurrence 
drew  the  attention  of  the  people  to  the  sacred 
spot  where  Father  Nerinckx'  remains  had  rested 
for  nearly  nine  years.  The  sisters  religiously 
guarded  it,  and  ornamented  it  yearly  with  grasses 
and  flowers,  bright  emblems  of  their  undying  af- 
fection for  their  spiritual  father ;  daily  visits  were 
made  to  the  grave,  and  the  surrounding  settlers 
not  unfrequently  came  to  pray  at  the  foot  of  the 
cross  which  overshadowed  its  grassy  plot.  A  good 
old  lady,  living  near  the  Barrens,  Mrs.  Burke  by 
name,  had  b'^f^n  blind  for  many  years.  All 
kinds  of  remedies  had  been  ineffectually  tried, 
and  the  most  skillful  practitioners  had  given  her 
up  as  a  hopeless  case.  Having  known  Father 
jS^erinckx,  and  entertaining  a  high  respect  and 
veneration  for  his  memory,  she  finally  resolved 
to  apply  to  him  for  her  cure.  She  was  so  positive, 
so  fully  convinced  that  God  would  grant  to  his 
intercession,  what  human  means  had  ftiiled  to 
effect,  that  no  entreaties  of  her  friends  could  de- 
ter her  from  undertaking  a  pilgrimage  to  Bethle- 
hem, which,  considering  her  blindness  and  the 
infirmities  of  old  age,  they  pronounced  dangerous. 
*' Take  me  to  the  grave  of  the  old  Saint  !^^  she 
persistently  repeated,  and  they  finally  acceded 
to  her  request.  Mrs.  Burke  was  led  to  the 
grave ;  stooping  down,  she  took  up  a  handful  of 
earth  from  its  surface,  and,  full  of  faith,  rubbed 
it  to  her  eyes,  ...  a  cry  of  joy  and  grati- 
tude startled  the  less  confident  beholders  of  the 


1824.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  541 

scene.     .     .     .    Mrs.  Burke's  eye-sight  had  been 
instantly  restored !  * 

As  faithful  children  of  Holy  Mother  Church, 
we  refrain  from  characterizing  these  occurrences, 
upon  which  she  never  pronounces  but  with  the 
greatest  reserve.  God's  power  is,  and  will  ever 
be  made  manifest  in  the  glorious  death  of  His 
Saints,  as  His  patience  and  endurance  are  made 
to  astonish  the  world  in  their  persecuted  lives ; 
but  the  church  alone  can  pass  a  decision  upon 
the  facts. 

Father  Nerinckx  had  not  had  the  opportunity 
of  acquainting  Bishop  Flaget  with  the  fact  of  his 
being  received  into  the  diocese  of  Missouri ;  and 
the  news  of  his  death  was  the  first  confirmation 
the  Bishop  of  Bardstown  received  of  his  final  re- 
moval from  Kentucky.  Judging  from  the  cir- 
cumstances of  his  departure,  and  knowing  how 
zealous  and  saintly  a  priest  Father  Nerinckx 
was,  he  had  little  doubt  in  his  mind  but  what 
Bishop  Rosati  would  welcome  him  with  out- 
stretched arms  ;  but,  unwilling  to  bestow  his 
place  on  another,  so  long  as  there  was  the  faint- 
est hope  left  for  his  return  to  Kentucky,  he 
temporarily  charged  Father  Chabrat  with  the 
direction  of  the  Loretto  Society.  "  After  the 
death  of  Rev.  Father  Nerinckx,"  writes  Sister 
Isabella  Clarke,  who  very  reluctantly  stated  to 
us  these  facts,  which  several  other  sisters  yet 
living  also  witnessed,  "  the  Right  Rev.  Bishop 
Flaget  of  this  diocese  came  to  Loretto  accom. 

*  Reminiscences  of  Sister  Isabella  Clarke. 


542    ■         LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [1824. 

panied  by  Rev.  J.  P.  Chabrat,  whom  he  installed 
in  Father  Nerinckx'  place  as  our  ecclesiastical 
superior.  Being  thus  placed  in  full  possession  of 
his  house  and  its  contents,  he,  for  some  reason, 
burnt  all  of  Rev.  Nerinckx'  writings  and  a  con- 
siderable number  of  ascetical  books,  which  the 
holy  missionary  had  collected  in  Belgium  during 
his  journe3''s  through  that  country  in  1816-17  and 
1820-21.  Some  time  after  that,  he  found  out  that 
I  had  Rev.  Father  Nerinckx'  farewell  letter,  and 
he  ordered  me  to  bring  it  to  him ;  he  took  it 
from  my  hands  and  threw  it  into  the  fire.  For- 
tunately, three  copies  of  it  had  been  taken 
which  escaped  the  fire."  Yes,  dear  Mother,  and 
more  fortunate  still,  one  of  j^our  sisters  seized 
the  original  as  it  fell  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
burning  heap  of  books  which  the  gentleman  had 
built  in  the  yard,  and  succeeded  in  hiding  it, 
whilst  he  was  facing  you ;  and  its  venerable 
looking  pages  yet  gladden  the  hearts  of  your 
spiritual  daughters ! 

Personally  convinced  that  Father  ]N"erinckx 
was  too  rigid,  Rev.  Chabrat  took  that  rather 
high-handed  measure  to  counteract  his  severity, 
iind  to  put  an  end  to  the  grief  which  the  good 
sisters  were  unable  to  repress  at  the  loss  of 
their  devoted  father.  But  the  saintly  director's 
rules  and  his  spirit  of  mortification  were  al- 
ready too  deeply  written  on  the  hearts  of  his 
•children,  and  too  carefully  treasured  in  their 
memories  not  to  escape  the  devouring  element. 
Although  not  written  on  paper,  they  still  con- 


1824.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  543 

tiniie,  to  this  clay,  to  fashion  and  form  the  spirit- 
ual life  of  his  daughters,  the  Friends  of  Mary 
at  the  Foot  of  the  Cross. 

Well  did  the  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Flaget  write 
in  his  letter  to  Bishop  England,  of  Charles- 
ton:* "The  attempt  of  death  to  snatch  Mr. 
Nerinckx  from  us  has  been  ineffectual,  for  he 
.still  lives  among  us  in  his  works  ;  and  the  monu- 
ments of  the  zeal  of  my  virtuous  friend  are  so 
multiplied  in  my  diocese,  and  his  generous  self- 
devotion  so  well  appreciated,  that  his  name  and 
that  of  his  beneficent  country  are  embalmed  in 
the  memory  of  my  flock.  The  legacy  which 
my  people  value  most  is  that  of  the  Friends  of 
Mary  at  the  Foot  of  the  Cross ;  this  admirable 
institution  is  their  delight.  The  virtuous 
daughters  of  this  Society  are  the  edification  of 
all  who  know  them;  their  singular  piety  and 
their  penitential  lives  remind  us  of  all  that  we 
have  read  of  the  ancient  monasteries  of  Pales- 
tine and  Thebais.  Their  number  is  over  one 
hundred  ;  they  have  charge  of  six  schools.  .  .  . 
It  is  now  nearly  twenty  years  since  Mr.  Ner- 
inckx  arrived  in  Kentucky,  and  has  edified  its 
inhabitants  by  his  truly  apostolic  mode  of  life ; 
a  mode  well  worthy  of  the  first  ages  of  the 
church.  During  a  considerable  time,  he  had  to 
serve  alone  with  Rev.  Mr.  Badin,  who  well  de- 
serves the  title  of  founder  of  this  diocese,  of  the 
several  congregations  of  this  immense  region. 
The   continual   traveling   which   Mr.   Nerinckx 

*  U.  S.  Catholic  Miscellany,  for  December  24,  1824. 


544  WFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1824, 

was  obliged  to  undergo,  at  all  seasons  of  tli& 
year,  and  exposed  to  every  inconvenience,  would 
have  terrified  the  most  enterprising  pioneer.. 
As,  at  the  time  of  his  arrival,  there  were  but 
one  or  two  churches  built,  and  the  catholics 
were  scattered  through  the  country,  he  went 
about  from  settlement  to  settlement,  celebrating 
the  holy  mysteries  from  house  to  house,  hearing 
confessions  every  morning,  and  obliged  to  fast 
almost  every  day  in  the  year.  His  instructions 
were  extremely  simple  and  quite  to  the  point. 

"  Feeling  greatly  the  inconvenience  which 
arose  from  celebrating  the  divine  mysteries  in 
rooms  dev^oted  to  every  worldly  purpose,  he  did 
his  best  to  inspire  all  catholics  whom  he  used  to 
visit,  with  a  zeal  for  the  construction  of  churches,, 
and  endowing  them  with  lands  for  the  support 
of  pastors.  His  exertions,  in  this  respect,  were 
crowned  with  perfect  success.  The  Catholic 
Church  of  Kentucky  has  acquired  much  land, 
which  is  worth  very  little  at  present,  but  which 
will  one  day  have  considerable  value.  We 
count  ten  churches  built  solely  by  his  exertions ; 
also  six  convents  of  nuns,  and  as  many  oratories. 
He  made  two  journeys  to  Europe,  in  order  to 
procure  the  means  necessary  for  those  great 
works ;  and  the  valuables  which  he  procured  ex- 
ceeded the  amount  of  ^15,000.  This  aid  was 
principally  drawn  from  religious  Flanders." 

Another  writer  in  the  same  periodical  *  says : 
*'  The  memory  of  Rev.  Mr.    Nerinckx  will    be 

*  Discipulus,  in  U.  S.  Catholic  Miscellany,  December  1,  1824. 


1824.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  545 

long  cherished  in  Kentucky.  The  many  young 
people  whom  he  has  trained  up  in  the  love  of 
God  and  the  practice  of  virtue,  will  hereafter 
speak  of  him  to  their  children  with  a  pious  en- 
thusiasm. Every  one  who  knew  him  must  give 
a  grateful  testimony  of  his  zeal.  His  vigilant 
care  of  the  churches  which  he  had  formed  in 
various  parts  of  the  country  was  unparalleled. 
Night  and  day,  at  all  seasons,  he  was  ready  to 
fly  to  the  call  of  the  distressed.  Persons  not  ac- 
quainted with  him,  could  scarcely  credit  the 
narration,  were  we  to  recount  all  the  instances 
of  the  self  denial  and  privations  that  he  under- 
went in  the  service  of  his  neighbor.  In  this 
particular,  he  was  no  less  than  an  astonishing- 
man  ;  and  it  was  a  subject  of  just  amazement  to 
all  who  witnessed  his  labors,  that  he  did  not  sink 
under  their  continual  pressure.  In  all  this  too, 
shone  conspicuous  the  most  unequivocal  disin- 
terestedness. In  this  venerable  priest  the 
church  in  Kentucky  has  lost  the  most  active 
and  efficient  promoter  of  her  interest.  He  was 
munificent  almost  beyond  what  can  be  believed ; 
every  church  in  the  State,  yes,  almost  every  in- 
dividual catholic,  could  show  some  of  the  gifts  of 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Nerinckx.  But  to  the  churches 
he  has  been  singularly  liberal ;  perhaps  $20,000 
would  not  purchase  all  the  sacred  furniture  he 
has  distributed  to  the  churches  through  the 
country  and  towns.  Rev.  Mr.  Nerinckx  was  also 
very  fruitful  in  resources.    He  was  poor ;  yet  he 


546  I^IFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [1824. 

seemed  capable  of  effecting  every  thing.  He 
had  numerous  communities  to  maintain,  yet,  not- 
withstanding the  stress  of  the  times,  he  found 
wherewith  not  only  to  maintain  those  numerous 
establishments,  but  also  to  found  and  establish 
churches.  He  undertook  much,  and  never  failed 
to  accomplish  what  he  attempted ;  and  when  we 
turn  our  eyes  to  the  numberless  improvements 
which  he  has  scattered  through  the  country,  we 
are  at  a  loss  to  know  where  he  obtained  the 
means  of  effecting  so  much." 

After  Rev.  Mr.  Chabrat  had  been  at  Loretto 
a  few  months,  he,  by  the  advice  of  the  Right 
Rev.  Bishop  Flaget,  concluded  to  move  Loretto 
to  another  place.  At  that  time,  the  Bishop 
owned  the  residence  and  farm  of  Rev.  Father 
Badin,  who  had  gone  to  Europe;  so  he  con- 
cluded to  let  the  Sisters  of  Loretto  have  this 
place  in  exchange  for  St.  Mary's  Seminary,  now 
St.  Mary's  College,  and  Loretto  was  moved 
from  its  birth-place,  so  dear  to  the  sisters  be- 
cause of  its  manifold  associations  with  their 
early  struggles  and  sufferings,  to  St.  Stephen's 
farm,  in  1824.  Unwilling  to  have  old  Loretto 
desecrated  by  indifferent  men  for  worldly  pur- 
poses, the  sisters  set  fire  to  the  convent  and 
chapel,  after  they  had  removed  the  rest  of  their 
household  to  the  new  place,  in  1825.  The  log- 
house  which  Father  Nerinckx  used  to  live  in  at 
St.  Charles,  stands  there  to  this  day,  and  it  was, 
in  1874,  the  dwelling-house  of  a  negro  family. 
Thus   did   the   cradle   of  catholicity  in  Ken- 


1824.]         LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  547 

tucky — St.  Stephen's,  the  residence  of  its  first 
missionary  priest  and  the  palace  of  its  first 
Bishop,  the  foundation  of  its  first  Seminary,  and 
the  headquarters  of  its  first  priests — become  the 
permanent  location  of  the  Mother-House  of  the 
Lorettines ;  a  fit. monument  to  the  zeal  of  Ken- 
tucky's greatest  apostle,  the  crowning  glory  of  its 
founder,  Father  Nerinckx,  who  had  first  lived 
on  this  very  spot  for  upwards  of  seven  years. 
Modern  Loretto  displays  its  spacious  buildings 
and  healthful  gardens  on  the  hill.  It  was  from 
here  that  the  zealous  and  energetic  Father  Ner- 
inckx  attended  to  his  numerous  and  distant  con- 
gregations ;  it  is  from  here  that  his  spiritual 
children  spread  throughout  the  States  their 
powerful  influence  for  good ;  it  is  here  that  the 
mortal  remains  of  the  holy  man  have  found  a 
last  resting-place,  and  await,  surrounded  by 
those  of  many  sisters  who  followed  him  to  his 
eternal  reward,  the  glorious  day  of  the  Resur- 
rection. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

The  character  and  spirit  of  Father  Nerinckx. 

"Was  Father  Nerinckx  a  rigorist? — His  mortification. — His  de- 
votion TO  THE  Blessed  Sacrament  and  the  Blessed  Virgin. — 
His  discernment  op  vocations.— His  kindness  to  the  sick. — 
His  unbounded  confidence  in  Divine  Providence. — His  devo- 
tion to  the  Sacred  Heart. —  His  humility. 

The  reader  who  has  patiently  followed  us 
through  the  many  vicissitudes  of  Father  Ner- 
inckx' life,  can  now  easily  form  an  estimate  of 
the  character  and  virtues  of  the  holy  missionary. 
The  facts,  as  related,  plainly  bespeak  the  man  ; 
no  comment  of  ours  could  place  him  in  a 
stronger  or  more  favorable  light.  No  priest 
ever  came  to  the  missions  of  the  United  States, 
who  left  his  impress  so  clear  and  distinct  upon 
the  people  as  did  Father  Nerinckx.  His  influ- 
ence is  plainly  traceable  in  the  catholics  of  Ken- 
tucky, and  his  spirit  is  still  living  in  the  Order 
which  he  founded — the  Lorettines.  A  few  ad- 
ditional strokes  will  complete  the  picture. 

The  following  appreciation  of  the  man,  is  by 
one  who  knew  him  personally  for  years :  * 
"  When  we  reflect  upon  the  uniform  tenor  of  his 

*  Disci jmhis,  in  the  U.  S.  Catholic  Miscellany,  December  1,  1824, 
(548) 


LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  549 

life,  we  are  at  no  loss  to  conjecture  what  was  the 
firmness  of  his  hope  at  the  approach  of  death. 
In  him,  we  have  no  doubt,  the  slothful  and  the 
indifferent  might  have  witnessed  what  a  blessed 
thing  it  is  to  die  after  a  life  spent  in  the  service 
of  God  and  men.-  They  would  have  joined  the 
Prophet  in  exclaiming :  '  Precious  in  the  sight 
of  the  Lord  is  the  death  of  His  Saints.' "  He  then 
recounts  his  many  works,  and  continues :  "  His 
piety  was  as  sincere  as  the  rest  of  his  virtues. 
It  was  of  that  solid,  steady,  and  uniform  kind, 
which  bespoke  him  sincerely  devoted  to  God, 
and  entirely  divested  of  self-seeking.  All  his 
leisure  hours  he  spent  in  retirement,  useful 
reading,  and  prayer.  He  was  never  known  to 
pay  a  visit  of  mere  civility — preferring  rather 
to  converse  in  secret  with  his  Heavenly  Father 
than  to  indulge  in  the  pleasures  of  human  con- 
versation. His  piety  was  not  ostentatious,  but 
it  was  easily  discovered  by  the  neatness,  the 
order  and  regularity  which  he  preserved  in  all 
the  churches  where  he  served.  It  was  also  par- 
ticularly observable  in  the  special  care  he  took 
to  instruct  youth.  He  would  practice  a  thousand 
modes  to  establish  them  in  true  and  solid  devo- 
tion. We  shall  ever  remember  his  zeal  in  this 
particular.  He  was  a  rigid  divine  and  an  aus- 
tere disciplinarian.  Perhaps  he  was  severe  even 
to  a  fault.  This  temper  of  mind  sometimes  of- 
fended his  more  remiss  parishioners ;  yet,  what- 
ever might  have  been  the  severity  of  his  morals, 
we  have  heard  but  this  one  testimony  of  him, 


550  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX. 

SO  much  to  his  praise :  if  men  followed  his 
advice,  and  imitated  his  life,  they  would  be  sure 
to  do  right.  To  finish  his  character  in  a  word, 
he  was  such  a  man  as  every  one  who  loves  salva- 
tion, could  wish  to  be ;  a  friend  of  Grod  and  the 
devoted  servant  of  mankind." 

Such  is  the  estimate  of  Father  JSTerinckx' 
character,  made  at  the  time  of  his  death ;  and 
we  indorse  it  to-day.  There  is,  however,  one 
point  in  Discipulus'  notice,  which,  in  justice  to 
truth  and  to  Father  ISTerinckx'  character,  we  can 
not  let  pass  unchallenged.  To  defend  Father  jN  er- 
inckx  against  the  charge  of  rigorism,  or  of  "  bur- 
dening the  people,"  by  saying  that  they  who 
followed  his  advice  "would  be  sure  to  do  right," 
is  an  evasion  of  the  point,  which  could  be  used, 
even  to  defend  the  Pharisees  against  the  same 
charge  in  Math,  xxiii.  The  question  is  not 
whether  people  by  doing  more  than  he  had  a 
legal  right  to  require  of  them,  would  be  safe — 
even  then  a  distinction  would  have  to  be  made 
— but  the  question  regarding  him  is :  was  he  a 
rigorist,  that  is,  an  unjust  taskmaster? 

I  think  his  defense  is  in  the  ruling  practice 
of  many  schools  in  his  day,  when  the  spirit,  and 
much  of  the  practical  doctrines  of  Jansenism 
were  still  in  vogue.  Father  Nerinckx  was  rigor- 
ous to  what  would  now  be  a  blemish  in  him ; 
but  he  was  a  holy  man,  who  must  be  judged  in 
connection  with  his  day.  Father  Nerinckx  par- 
tially rose  above  its  Calvinistic  tendencies. 
Thus,  though  the  principle  can  not  be  defended, 


LIFE  OF  REV.  CHAELES  NERINCKX.  651 

the  man  himself  can  be  fully  excused.  We 
must  remember,  moreover,  that  Father  Ner- 
inckx  had  witnessed,  in  all  their  hideousness,  the 
awful  results  of  neglect  of  christian  duties,  dur- 
ing the  French  Revolution.  These  necessarily 
impressed  the  naturally  serious  mind  of  the 
priest,  who  had  suffered  exile  for  conscience's 
sake,  with  a  sense  of  the  necessity  of  earnest- 
ness in  the  service  of  God,  easily  over-excited 
by  the  indifference  of  many  of  his  people. 

Father  Nerinckx  was  austere  especially  to 
himself;  we  never  heard  of  a  man  aiming  at 
holiness  who  was  not.  This  austerity  was  ap- 
parent in  the  body  of  rules  which  he  drew  up 
for  the  Society  of  the  Friends  of  Mary ;  but 
they  breathed  the  purest  spirit  of  christian  per- 
fection ;  the  sacred  Congregation  of  the  Propa- 
ganda had  approved  of  them,  and  the  Holy 
Father  had  sanctioned  them.  "  To  foster  the 
spirit  of  humility  and  mortification,  he  recom- 
mended manual  labor  and  the  love  of  being  em- 
ployed in  the  most  menial  offices  of  the  house. 
To  encourage  the  sisters  to  practice  these  em- 
ployments with  cheerfulness  and  love,  he  pointed 
to  the  lowly  life  and  the  voluntary  hardships 
and  privations  of  the  Blessed  Savior,  and  to  the 
great  utility  of  such  mortifications  for  the  atone- 
ment of  sin,  and  the  laying  up  of  abundant 
merits  in  heaven."  *  As  we  have  said,  the  pov- 
erty of  the  Society,  at  its  commencement,  com- 
pelled hard  labor ;  but  the  exposure  of  the  sis- 

*  "Sketches  of  Kentucky." 


552  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX. 

ters  to  every  inconvenience  of  weather,  while 
laboring  hard  in  the  fields  or  forests,  was  done 
away  with  as  soon  as  their  means  allowed  them 
to  employ  hired  help.  The  practice  of  going 
barefooted  during  a  great  portion  of  the  year 
was  too  rigid  for  health  and  ill-suited  to  the  na- 
ture of  the  climate,  but  Father  Nerinckx  had 
only  allowed  it  at  the  persistent  request  of  the 
fervent  novices,  and  subsequently  forbade  it  en- 
tirely. And  that  those  rigid  regulations  were 
not  very  detrimental  to  the  health  of  the 
sisters  was  fully  proved  by  the  results :  Young 
ladies  who  had  boarded  at  Old  Loretto,  in  1813, 
and  joined  the  Society  shortly  after  at  the  ten- 
der age  of  sixteen,  were  still  hale  and  hearty, 
observing  all  the  rules  of  the  community,  in 
1875 ;  and  we  doubt  whether  there  is  a  religious 
society  in  the  United  States,  or  any  class  of  lay- 
people,  that  can  show  so  great  a  j>ercentage  of 
vigorous  old  age  as  the  Society  of  the  Friends 
of  Mar}^,  in  Kentucky,  possesses.  The  Sisters 
had  entered  into  the  full  spirit  of  their  state, 
and  scrupulously  followed  Father  jN'erinckx'  in- 
structions ;  indeed,  they  would  have  enjoyed  yet 
more  terrible  mortifications  had  he  left  matters 
to  their  own  choice.  But  he  would  not  sufl:er 
any  instrument  of  penance,  such  as  iron  girdles, 
etc.,  to  be  used  by  the  sisters,  saying  that  a  re- 
ligious who  kept  the  rules,  and  worked  and 
taught  all  day,  was  well  disciplined  by  night. 
In  fact,  all  who  knew  Father  Nerinckx  speak, 


LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  553 

above  all  things,  of  his  uniform  kindness  to  others 
and  severity  to  himself. 

His  mortification  was  something  suq^rising ; 
he  fasted  every  day  of  the  year;  his  clothes 
were  homespun,  and,  as  a  little  instance  of  his 
aversion  for  all  kind  of  ornaments,  it  is  related, 
that,  having  received  a  new  horse  bridle  trimmed 
in  the  prevalent  style  of  those  days,  he  quietly 
took  his  pocket-knife  and  cut  off  the  tassels  and 
ornamentations.  "  Mr.  Nerinckx  himself," 
writes  Bishop  Flaget,*  "led  an  extremely  aus- 
tere and  mortified  life ;  his  dress,  his  lodging, 
his  food  was  poor ;  and  he  has  filled  his  monas-^ 
teries  with  this  holy  spirit.  Those  women  seek 
for  poverty  in  every  thing,  in  their  monasteries, 
in  the  plain  simplicity  of  their  chapels.  The 
neatness,  the  cleanliness,  the  simplicity  of  their 
dwellings  and  of  their  chapels  excite  the  wonder 
of  their  visitors.  But  nothing  could  exceed  the 
devotion  of  Mr.  Xerinckx  to  the  Holy  Sacra- 
ment of  our  altars ;  in  this  respect  he  was  a 
model  for  every  clergyman.  In  his  churches 
you  saw  only  plainness  except  about  the  altar, 
and  his  devotion  led  him  to  aim  at  magnificence 
in  this  i)lace,  especially  as  regarded  the  Taber- 
nacle, which  was  to  contain  the  Holy  of  Holies ; 
every  thing  connected  with  the  sacred  mysteries 
called  forth  the  exercise  of  this  devotion. 
Never  did  he  permit  a  day  to  pass  without  cele- 

*  Letter  to    Bishop    England,   in  U.  S.    Catholic    Miscellany, 
above  quoted. 


554  J^IFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX. 

brating  Mass,  unless  grievously  ill,  or  engaged 
in  a  long  journey ;  and  a  rule  of  his  monasteries 
is  to  keep  up,  on  Thursday  nights,  the  perpetual 
adoration,  by  a  succession  of  two  sisters  to  two 
sisters,  before  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  to  pay 
their  homage  to  the  God  who  loved  us  so  dearly, 
as,  after  having  suifered  death  for  us,  to  give  us, 
under  the  sacramental  veils,  His  flesh  to  eat : 
and  to  repair,  in  some  degree,  the  disrespect 
with  which  this  Sacrament  is  treated  by  the  in- 
gratitude of  the  human  race." 

The  Bishop  continues :  "  This  good  maQ  had 
also  great  filial  piety  to  Mary,  the  Mother  of 
Jesus,  and  he  desired  to  excite  this  affection  for 
the  Mother  of  our  Savior  in  all  those  with 
whom  he  had  any  intercourse.  He  admired  her 
spirit  of  patient  love  and  resignation  in  suffer- 
ings, especially  when  she  beheld  her  dearly  be- 
loved— her  Creator  and  her  Son — uj^on  that 
cross,  at  the  foot  of  which  she  was  weeping. 
Often  did  the  pious  ejaculation,  which  he  was  in 
the  habit  of  teaching  to  others,  escape  from  his 
own  lips :  '  Oh  !  Suffering  Jesus  !  Oh  !  Sorrow- 
ful Mary ! '  In  all  the  churches  which  he  at- 
tended, he  established  the  Society  of  the  Holy 
Bosary,  and  the  Confraternity  and  Sisterhood  of 
the  Scapular ;  and  almost  all  the  catholics  of  his 
congregations,  men,  women,  and  children,  are 
still  enrolled  in  one  or  more  of  those  pious  so- 
cieties. 

"Nothing  could  be  more  edifying  than  his^ 
piety  toward  the  dead.     It  is  quite  impossible  to 


LIFE  OF  KEV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  |>5& 

pass  by  any  of  the  numerous  cemeteries  which  he 
has  laid  out  without  feeling  deep  sentiments  of 
religion,  and  having  a  sweet  sensation  of  deep 
melancholy  blended  with  the  hope  of  the  chris- 
tian. In  the  midst  of  each  abode  of  the  dead  is 
reared  the  glorious  emblem  of  the  christian's 
faith,  a  large  cross,  surrounded  by  a  balustrade, 
for  the  convenience  of  the  pious  friends  who 
come  to  pray  for  their  dejiarted  brethren.  At 
the  end  of  each  grave,  you  also  find  the  em- 
blematic cross,  inscribed  with  the  dates  of  the 
birth,  death,  and  the  name  of  the  brother  or 
sister,  whose  bones  are  there  laid  up  in  the  hope 
of  the  resurrection.  One  of  the  rules  of  his  nuns 
is  to  go  with  their  scholars  in  procession  to  the 
cemetery  of  the  convent,  and  there  frequently  to 
pray  for  the  repose  of  the  souls  of  their  sisters. 
Mr.  Nerinckx  obtained  from  the  Pope  consider- 
able indulgences  for  those  who,  in  his  convents, 
oifer  up  the  Holy  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass  for  de- 
parted souls,  and  the  indulgence  is  applicable  to 
those  who  assist  at  the  Mass.  He  never  per- 
mitted a  week  to  pass  without  offering  up  the 
Mass  for  this  great  object. 

"His  love  for  retirement  was  such  that  he 
never  paid  a  visit  of  mere  ceremony.  Indeed, 
he  never  visited,  except  when  the  good  of  his 
neighbor  or  the  duty  of  his  ministry  made  it 
obligatory  on  him  to  do  so.  His  watchings,  even 
during  his  longest  and  most  painful  journeys, 
were  very  long,  and  were  always  spent  either  in 
study  or  in  prayer.     Prayer  appeared  to  be  his 


556  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERTNCKX. 

greatest  and  only  solace  in  the  midst  of  his  con- 
tinual labors."  *  "To  keep  up  the  constant 
practice  and  spirit  of  prayer  in  the  houses  of 
his  Society,  Mr.  Nerinckx  inculcated,  besides 
regular  and  devout  attendance  at  all  the  pious  ex- 
-ercises  of  the  community,  distributed  throughout 
the  day,  the  utility  of  raising  their  hearts  to 
God  by  a  pious  aspiration  or  ejaculation,  when- 
ever they  would  hear  the  clock  strike,  or  would 
pass  from  one  occupation  to  the  other."  f 

Like  all  men  of  prayer,  Father  Nerinckx 
possessed  a  wonderful  knowledge  of  souls  and  in- 
sight into  their  spiritual  wants.  His  discernment 
of  religious  vocations  was  most  remarkable. 
The  following  instances  were  related  to  us,  in 
1874,  by  the  very  sisters  who  were  in  1816  un- 
■der  his  spiritual  direction  :  One  of  the  scholars, 
only  fourteen  jesiYS  of  age,  and  an  orphan,  de- 
sired very  much  to  become  a  member  of  the  So- 
ciety. After  consulting  with  Father  jSTerinckx 
on  the  subject,  she  took  the  religious  habit,  and 
when  of  sufl&cient  age  made  her  final  vows.  Her 
aunt,  who  had  been  a  true  mother  to  her,  was 
present  at  the  latter  ceremony,  and,  after  Mass, 
she  had  an  interview  with  her  niece,  embraced 
her,  and  said:  "Now  I  am  hapjiy,  my  dear 
child  ;  and  I  will  tell  you  something  that  will 
encourage  you  to  persevere  in  your  religious  vo- 
cation.    When  our  venerable  Father  Nerinckx 

*  Letter  of    Bishop  Flaget,  U.  S.  Catholic  Miscellany,  above 
quoted. 

f  Sketches  of  Kentucky  above  quoted. 


LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  557 

came  to  ask  my  consent  to  your  taking  the  holy 
habit ;  I  objected  to  it,  on  account  of  your  youth. 
His  answer  was  short,  but  overcame  all  my 
scruples  :  '  Madam,'  he  replied,  '  I  will  go  secur- 
ity for  the  child  that  she  will  never  leave  the 
Society.'  I  could  not  refuse;  for  it  seemed  Grod 
himself  spoke  by  the  mouth  of  the  holy  man.  I 
never  told  you  of  it,  for  fear  it  might  influence 
you ;  but  now  that  you  have  made  your  final 
vows,  rejoice,  my  dear  child,  and  persevere  unto 
the  end." 

Another  one  of  the  boarders,  of  about  the 
same  age,  was  equally  anxious  to  become  a  re- 
ligious. Unable  to  overcome  her  father's  op- 
position, she  entreated  Father  Nerinckx  to  go 
and  intercede  with  him  in  her  behalf.  "  It  is 
better  for  3^ou  to  go  home,"  was  the  prudent 
priest's  decision,  "the  time  has  not  come  yet, 
but  it  will  come."  And  it  did  come,  two  years 
after  his  precious  death. 

Father  JN^erinckx  was  no  enthusiast  in  the 
matter  of  religious  vocations ;  in  this,  as  in 
every  thing  else,  he  was  matter  of  fact,  and 
made  the  postulants  feel  that,  in  becoming  re- 
ligious, they  were  making  a  sacrifice,  and  choos- 
ing mortification  and  the  cross.  A  little  inci- 
dent, which  may  seem  puerile  in  the  eyes  of 
worldly  readers,  but  which  a  careful  student  of 
the  spirit  of  Father  I^erinckx  can  not  ignore, 
may  serve  as  an  illustration  of  the  self-denial 
he  required  of  them.  The  yard  of  Old  Loretto 
was  always  kept  very  clean.     On  one  occasion. 


558  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX. 

Father  Nerinckx  sent  word  by  a  sister  to  one  of 
the  postulants  to  go  and  pick  up  every  little 
stick  or  straw  that  she  could  find  from  the 
school  to  his  own  house,  on  the  opposite  side  of 
the  yard.  The  pupil  was  diligently  complying 
with  the  order,  and  had  already  gathered  a 
handful  of  weeds  and  other  rubbish,  when,  upon 
hearing  a  heavy  step  behind  her,  she  turned  her 
head  and  beheld  Father  Nerinckx  looking  her 
reprovingly  in  the  eyes.  "  What  are  you  doing 
here?"  was  the  rather  abrupt  question.  A 
meek  reply  was  instantly  rebuked  by  a  short  order 
to  "go  to  school,  and  an  expressive  look  which 
told,  better  than  words  could  tell,  that  if  she 
was  found  there  again  during  school  hours,  the 
presumed  fault  would  be  punished  with  a  more 
severe  reprimand.  The  fact  that  no  attempt  at 
exculpation  was  made,  is  a  practical  proof  of 
the  true  spirit  of  humility  and  abnegation  of 
self  which  fllourished  in  the  Society  in  early 
<lays,  and  which  the  good  sister  still  practices  at 
the  good  old  age  of  seventy-nine  years. 

But,  although  Father  Nerinckx  was  prudent, 
and  thoroughly  tried  the  postulants,  no  worldly 
considerations  could  prevent  him  from  telling 
the  truth,  when  the  voice  of  God  plainly  called 
a  soul  to  his  service.  A  young  lady  boarder 
•of  Loretto  had  long  struggled  against  the  con- 
viction, which  forced  itself  more  and  more  upon 
her  mind,  that  she  was  called  to  a  religious  life. 
The  term  of  her  studies  had  finally  been 
reached,  and  a  servant  had  come  to  take  her 


LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  559 

liome  to  her  parents.  A  powerful  struggle  be- 
tween nature  and  grace  now  ensued.  Grod's  own 
grace,  it  is  true,  was  on  the  one  hand;  but  on 
the  other,  the  world  with  all  its  glittering  al- 
lurements ;  the  world,  in  which  her  position  and 
talents  would  seciire  for  her  the  admiration  of 
her  friends,  where  the  love  of  a  dear  mother, 
who  invited  her  home,  awaited  her.  Should 
she  say  farewell  to  all  these,  to  bury  herself,  her 
youth  and  all  her  attainments,  within  the  con- 
vent walls,  where  no  admiring  eye,  no  flattering 
tongue  would  appreciate  her  gifts  ?  The  conflict 
was  hard,  and  she  was  going  to  take  the  fatal 
leap  into  the  world,  when  a  good  inspiration 
came  to  her :  she  would  go  to  Father  Nerinckx 
and  acquaint  him  with  her  struggles.  N"© 
sooner  had  she  entered  his  room,  than  the 
priest  spoke  in  a  decided  tone  :  "  You  have  a 
vocation  to  a  religious  life,  and  you  are  about  to 
lose  it.  You  are  free,  my  child,  to  go  home  or 
stay.  Our  Lord  offers  you  the  chance  to  be 
His  now ;  if  you  accept,  it  will  be  yours  forever ; 
if  you  go  home,  you  will  never  return ;  your  vo- 
cation will  be  taken  from  you,  and  given  to  one 
who  will  be  more  faithful  to  receive  it.  You 
will  then  be  left  with  only  sufficient  grace  to 
save  your  soul.  But  will  you  save  it?  Now 
then,  do  as  you  please."  "  Father,"  she  re- 
plied, "  I  stay  ;  please  write  to  mother,  and  in- 
form her  of  my  resolution."  From  that  mo- 
ment, her  heart  was  as  relieved  of  a  great 
weight.     In  due  time,  she  received  the  religious 


560  l^IFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX. 

habit,  and,  up  to  the  day  of  this  writing,  when 
she  is  still  alive,  no  happier  soul  is  to  be  found 
within  convent  walls. 

One  more  instance  of  Father  Nerinckx',  we 
might  almost  say,  supernatural  intuition :  a 
young  lady  convert  went  to  Loretto  to  school, 
and  soon  became  very  unhappy.  She  had  a  per- 
fect dread  of  becoming  a  nun,  and  left  the  con- 
vent lest  she  should  acquire  an  inclination  for 
the  religious  state.  But  her  unhappiness  only 
increased  at  her  return  into  the  world,  and  she 
came  back.  Unable  to  conquer  her  fears,  she 
finally  determined  to  have  an  interview  with  the 
spiritual  director  on  the  subject,  in  the  hope  of 
obtaining  some  relief.  She  told  him  all,  and 
was  not  a  little  surprised  when  Father  Nerinckx 
simply  directed  her  to  go  to  the  chapel  and  say 
a  little  prayer.  "But,  Father,  I  can't,  I  won't 
be  a  nun  !  "  she  exclaimed.  "  Never  mind,  my 
child,"  replied  the  priest  in  a  quiet  tone,  "just 
go  to  church ;  prayer  will  do  you  no  harm." 
She  went,  and  scarcely  had  she  knelt  down, 
when  all  her  troubles  vanished.  Some  months 
later,  she  begged  to  be  received  as  a  member  of 
the  community ;  she  became  a  most  exemplary 
sister,  and  years  after  ended  her  virtuous  life  by 
a  most  edifying  death. 

Although  always  austere  in  his  manners,  and 
mortified  in  his  way  of  living,  and  requiring  the 
sisters  to  practice  the  virtue  of  mortification  in 
an  eminent  degree.  Father  Nerinckx  had  a  pe- 
culiar tenderness  for  the  sick.     Nothing  was  too- 


LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  561 

good  for  them,  and  the  sisters  were  ordered  to 
treat  them  with  extraordinary  care  and  atten- 
tion.    He  visited  the  infirmary  every  day  him- 
self, and  would  carry  to  the  sufferers  wine,  whick 
was  otherwise  never  used  but  for  altar  purposes,, 
and  have  the  sisters  supply  them  with  all  the 
delicacies  which  poor  Loretto  could  afford.     On 
one  occasion  a  postulant  was  prostrated  with  a 
very  high  fever,  and  obliged  to  remain  in  the  in- 
firmary.    Father  Nerinckx  came  to  pay  her  a 
visit,  and  inquired  of  her,  whether  she  did  not 
desire  to  go  home.     Upon  her  answering  in  the 
negative,  he   looked   around,  and  spying   some 
dry  corn-bread   on  a  tin  plate,  asked   the  sick 
child  whether  that  was  all  they  gave  her  to  eat. 
She  replied  that  she  desired  nothing,  and  Father 
I^erinckx  retired.     The  same  afternoon  a  wagon 
arrived  at  Calvary,  and  she  who  was  infirmarian 
of   Loretto   stepped   out,   and   brought  the   su- 
perior's orders  for  another  sister  to  start  at  once 
for  Loretto.     In  a  few  moments,  the  one  sum- 
moned took  her  place  in  the  wagon,  and  was,  be- 
fore night,  installed  at  the  bedside  of  the  sick 
postulant,  to  whom  she  proved  a  most   tender 
and  skillful  nurse.     The  sister  thus  sent  to  Cal- 
vary, and  who  was  so  exemplary  a  member  of 
the  community  that  she  never  received  the  least 
admonition,  related   the  incident   herself  some 
twenty  years  after  its  occurrence. 

Father  Nerinckx  was  a  great  lover  of  poverty, 
and  always  had  the  sisters  put  an  old  patch  in  a 


662  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHAELES  NERINCKX. 

conspicuous  place  of  their  new  dress.  However, 
lie  liked  cleanliness,  and  rigorously  enforced  it 
upon  all.  A  novice  who  was  considered  to  be  a 
little  vain  had  been  made  to  wear  an  old  dress  for 
a  considerable  length  of  time.  One  day,  Father 
J^erinckx  noticed  the  neglect  of  her  apparel,  and 
told  her  to  request  the  Mistress  of  INTovices  to 
call  on  him.  A  few  moments  later,  she  was  re- 
quested by  the  latter  to  go  and  change  the  worn- 
out  garment  for  a  new  one,  which  she  would  find 
in  her  cell.  In  due  time  the  mistress  took  the 
tattered  habit  to  Father  Nerinckx,  who  bade  her 
throw  it  into  the  fire,  remarking  that  austerity 
and  poverty  were  very  commendable  virtues, 
but  that  cleanliness  was  an  essential  one. 

We  have  already  spoken  of  his  unbounded 
confidence  in  Divine  Providence,  and  of  his  favor- 
ite maxim  which  he  had  always  on  his  lips,  and 
which  is  engraven  upon  his  tomb :  "  Do  not 
forsake  Providence  and  He  will  never  for- 
sake you ! "  That  the  sisters  were  in  that 
respect  faithful  followers  of  their  founder,  and 
partakers  of  his  spirit,  is  amply  proved  by  what 
Sister  Eulalia  relates  as  having  happened  in 
1818.  It  need  not  be  repeated  that  the  begin- 
nings were  everywhere  very  poor  at  the  date 
1818.  At  Calvary,  especially,  the  sisters  labored 
under  many  privations  during  the  first  months 
of  their  residence.  One  morning,  after  a  very 
meager  breakfast,  at  which  they  had  consumed 
-almost  the  last  provisions  in  the  house,  Mr.  Vin- 


LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  563 

■cent  Gates  *  was  sent  into  the  neighborhood  to 
buy,  beg,  or  borrow  some  meat  and  other 
victuals  for  dinner.  Meanwhile  good  Sister 
Reyneldis  Hayden,  going  to  the  river,  which 
was  near  by,  and  having  to  pass  through  a  little 
cane-brake  that  Jiad  not  yet  been  cleared  up, 
saw  a  fawn  which  was  intently  looking  at  her. 
Fixing  her  eyes  on  those  of  the  animal,  she 
walked  up  to  it,  and,  throwing  her  mantle  over 
its  head,  led  it  unresistingly  to  the  slaughter. 
So  the  sisters  had  a  good  dinner,  and  their  trust 
in  the  protection  of  Providence  was  considerably 
increased. 

But  above  all  things,  and  that  will  endear 
Father  jS'erinckx'  memory  to  many  a  reader, 
the  holy  man  had  a  most  tender  love  for  the 
Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus.  He  invariably  ended 
all  his  instructions  with  a  recommendation  of 
the  devotion  to  the  Sacred  Heart.  His  sisters, 
to  this  day,  wear  the  Sacred  Hearts  of  Jesus 
and  Mary  embroidered  in  red  silk  on  the  cor- 
ners of  their  black  veils,  resting  upon  their 
heart,  and  are  recommended  by  their  founder  to 
kiss  them  often  through  the  day.  In  fact,  the 
devotion  to  the  Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus  was  made 
the  Standard  and  the  Daily  Food  of  the  So- 
ciety of  the  Friends  of  Mary  at  the  Foot  of  the 
Cross.  In  1816,  while  in  Belgium,  Father  Ner- 
inckx  had  a  wood-cut  made  and  several  hundred 

*This  was  an  elderly  gentleman  who  had  devoted  his  life  to 
serve  the  Sisters  of  Loretto,  and  who  died  most  edifyingly  at 
Jjoretto  Convent  in  the  latter  part  of  August,  1833. 


564  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX. 

copies  of  it  printed,  representing  the  Suffering 
Jesus  on  the  Cross,  almost  completely  hidden  by 
a  huge  Flaming  Heart.  In  the  gaping  wound 
of  the  Divine  Heart,  the  pierced  heart  of  the 
Sorrowful  Mary  is  hidden,  and  surrounded  by 
smaller  ones  representing  the  number  of  pro- 
fessed sisters,  while  other  similar  hearts  are 
seen  leaving  the  earth  to  seek  a  refuge  in  that 
wound  of  love,  typifying  the  novices  and  postu- 
lants. On  the  rock  which  forms  the  base  of  the 
Cross,  waves  the  Standard  of  the  Society :  "0 
Suifering  Jesus !  0  Sorrowful  Mary !"  and  a  fac- 
simile of  Old  Loretto  Convent  is  seen  to  the 
right,  in  the  background.  One  of  these  Father 
Nerinckx  had  framed  with  a  glass  on  both  sides, 
the  reverse  bearing  the  following  inscription  in 
his  own  handwriting : 

The  Manna,  or 
MORNING  FOOD 

OF  THE 

SOCIETY. 

Sacerdos paratus  ad  Missam  conversus  que  ad  aS' 
sistentes  legit  sequentem  exJiortatiunculam* 
0  Dear  Sisters  and  Scholars  ! 

Love  your  Jesus,  dying  with  love  for  you  on 
the  Cross!  Love  Mary,  your  loving  Mother, 
sorrowing  at  the  Foot  of  the  Cross  !  Love  one 
another,    have   only   one   heart,    one    soul,    one 

*The  priest,  being  ready  for  Mass,  turns  toward  those  present 
and  reads  the  following  little  exhortation. 


LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  565 

mind  !     Love  the  Institute,  love  the  rules,  love 
Jesus'  darling  humility ! 

His  dictf's,  Superior  advenit  et  senior  Scholaris  et 
genuflexae  osculantur  S.  S.  Corda,  et  mox  incipitur 
Missa.  Semper  commendantur :  memoria  henefac- 
torum,  praesertim  Flandrorum.  Memoria  Pii  VII. 
et  Ben.  Jos.  primi  Bard.  Epi.  sub  quibus  Institutum 
coepit,  et  a  quibus  protectum  stat  et  propagatur.* 

1818. 

How  sweetly  blended  with  the  main  devotion 
of  his  foundation— the  Sufferings  of  Jesus  and 
Mary! 

Much  more  could  be  said  about  the  virtues 
and  holy  practices  of  the  venerable  missionary, 
but  we  must  content  ourselves  with  the  follow- 
ing extract  from  his  own  writings.  Saved  from 
destruction,  because  copied  before  his  manu- 
scripts were  consigned  to  the  fire,  it  will  show 
the  man  as  he  was,  mortified,  and,  above  all, 
possessing,  in  a  supereminent  degree,  the  great 
virtue  of  humilitij — the  foundation  of  sanctity, 
the  cornerstone  of  the  whole  fabric  of  christian 
]oerfection. 

*This  being  said,  the  Superior  and  the  oldest  scholar  come 
up,  and  kneeling  down,  kiss  the  S.  S.  Hearts;  then  begins  the 
Mass.  The  remembrance  should  ever  be  made  of  the  benefac- 
tors, especially  those  of  Flanders,  of  Pius  VII.,  and  of  Benedict 
Joseph,  first  Bishop  of  Bardstown,  under  both  of  whom  the  In- 
stitute began,  and  by  whom  it  is  to-day  protected  and  extended. 


566  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHAELES  NEEINCKX. 

THE  writer's  opinion,  SHOULD  HE  BE  A  CONFES- 
SOR OF  NUNS,  FROM  WHICH  HIS  WAJ^TT  OF  TAL- 
ENTS FREES  HIM. 

"The  writer's  opinion  is,  that  there  is  no  part 
of  the  flock  that  requires  a  more  apt,  or  a  more 
accomplished  confessor  than  a  community  of 
nuns.  If  their  call,  according  to  the  Holy 
Fathers,  be  more  eminent  than  any  other,  their 
lives  ought  to  be  more  holy,  and  hence  their 
guides  better  qualified  than  the  average  of 
priests.  It  is  really  a  mistake,  that  has  been 
observed  in  nearly  all  catholic  countries,  that 
religious  can  be  easily  led  by  men  of  common 
capacity  and  talents,  sometimes  worn  out  with 
age  and  labor. 

"  Indeed,  this  is  a  mistake,  and  a  very  per- 
nicious one.  I  do  not  wonder  if  some  ascribe, 
in  a  great  measure,  to  this  blunder,  the  general 
downfall  of  religious  orders  in  Europe  in  these 
days.  The  weak  and  ignorant  laborer  lets  the 
cockle  grow,  and  is  not  able  to  prevent  its 
growth  in  these  beautiful  gardens  of  the  Church 
of  God;  and  by  this  same  want  of  skill,  these 
castles  and  fortresses  of  religion  become  tho 
prey  of  our  enemies.  Scandals  burst  out  as  tor- 
rents, and  sweep  every  thing  before  them ;  and 
the  armies  of  the  reserve  being  defeated,  our 
enemies  have  nothing  more  to  fear.  The  Soph- 
ists of  the  present  day  are  very  well  apprised 
of  this  truth,  and  if  the  sins  crying  to  heaven 
for  vengeance  are  not  common  here,  we  can  not 


LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  56T 

say  the  same  of  the  sins  of  ignorance   in   the 
A'"ery  mysteries  of  religion. 

"Our  little  army  of  Loretto,  will,  I  think,, 
give  constant  employment  to  and  tax  the  energy 
and  zeal  of  the  best  informed  of  confessors.  It 
is  a  great  task:  Christian  duties,  rules  and 
spirit  of  the  Institute,  christian  perfection,  ex- 
tensive dominion  of  vice  and  passions,  corrup- 
tion of  the  heart,  artifices  of  the  devil,  policy 
of  the  world,  visits  of  numerous  kindred,  sub- 
sistence of  the  houses,  temporal  concerns,  schools, 
domestics  and  servants,  and  many  other  points 
too  numerous  to  mention,  will  offer  him  a  very 
serious  battle,  and  that  on  a  very  slippery 
ground. 

"  Had  I  the  necessary  talents,  together  with 
a  lawful  mission,  I  would  wish  to  act  after  the 
following  rules : 

"1.  I  would  keep  up  a  regular  course  of 
studies.  The  Ascetics  and  Mystics  would  take 
up  part  of  my  time.  Catechisms,  exhortations, 
sermons,  retreats,  etc.,  would  not  leave  much 
time  to  slumber.  The  very  study  and  medita- 
tion of  the  rules,  etc.,  kept  the  holy  ones  busy 
for  centuries  to  accomplish  the  edifice  of  chris- 
tian perfection. 

2.  For  this  purpose,  I  would  divide  my  day's 
work,  beginning  half  an  hour  before  the  com- 
munity of  the  sisters,  that  is,  at  three  or  half 
past  three  a.  m.,  and  finishing  at  ten  p.  m.  ;  giv- 
ing four  hours  to  study,  meditation  of  rules, 
etc, ;  office,  celebration  of  Mass,  and  private  de- 


568  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX. 

votions  might  take  five  hours  ;  visits  of  schools 
and  temporal  concerns  taking  up  the  balance  of 
the  time. 

"  3.  I  would  endeavor  to  bring  my  practice  in 
the  confessional  and  my  exhortations  to  the 
community  to  the  mode  of  Father  Barry,  not 
losing  the  precious  time,  as  St.  Ignatius  says,  in 
trying  to  satisfy  minds  which  are  sure  never  to 
be  satisfied.  (Father  Nerinckx'  meaning  is 
that  he  would  merely  insist  upon  compliance 
with  the  rules  and  blind  obedience  in  direction, 
•without  trying  to  give  for  every  thing  the  rea- 
son wh}^,  for  the  satisfaction  of  the  more 
learned.)  It  may  be  observed  that  this  class 
of  penitents  are  not  the  most  faithful  observers 
of  the  rules. 

"4.  I  would  allow  none  to  call  on  me  without 
a  real  necessity,  a  short  while,  and  in  due  time 
with  all  necessary  precautions. 

"5.  I  would  receive  none  of  their  services,  but 
those  that  can  not  possibly  be  avoided.  Hours 
should  be  appointed,  out  of  which  no  audience. 

"  6.  My  clothes  would  be  as  much  as  possible 
homespun,  and  made  as  full,  plain,  and  canoni- 
cal as  can  be  done ;  the  gown,  or  toga  talaris, 
with  the  Summer  habit  of  600  cotton.  I  should 
hate  to  preach  poverty  and  see  so  many  orphans 
sufi^ering  and  naked,  while  I  would  wear  the 
dress  of  the  gentry.  A  priest  has  more  right 
to  look  like  an  Apostle  than  like  a  gentleman. 
A  St.  Francis  Xavier  has  tried  it,  and  St.  James 
wore  a  habit  of  linen.     The  relics  we  have  of 


LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  ^^ERINCKX.  669 

the  habits  and  linen  of  the  saint  and  apostolic 
men  show  what  stuff  they  were  made  of.  We 
are  ministers  of  the  same  God,  i)reachers  of 
the  same  Gospel ;  in  need  of  more  penance, 
mortification,  and  self-denial;  still,  aiming  at 
the  same  heavenly  reward. 

"  7.  For  the  same  reasons,  I  would  be  as  par- 
ticular about  my  food,  which  I  would  regulate 
in  the  following  manner:  no  breakfast  in  the 
morning;  at  dinner,  one  dish  of  meat,  with  a 
plate  of  vegetables  and  corn-bread.  Since  my 
severe  spell  of  sickness,  my  old  age  and  many 
complaints  seem  to  call  for  a  warm  drink,  as 
tea,  etc.,  but  this  should  be  weak  and  without 
sweets.  At  night,  bread  and  butter,  if  it  can  be 
had.  Never  would  I  partake  of  puddings,  cakes, 
preserves,  etc.,  wines,  liquors,  or  cider.  This 
last  was  the  wish  and  practice  of  Bishop  Flaget 
whilst  at  Loretto. 

"8.  I  would  never  pay  any  visits  ;  nor  would 
I  receive  any  but  such  as  hospitality  would  com- 
mand. Loss  of  time,  scandals,  or  little  edifica- 
tion, I  have  often  seen  to  be  the  consequence  of 
visitors  in  Europe.  I  know  not  one  convert, 
made  by  the  habit  of  visiting,  in  America ;  and  I 
also  know  that  non-visitors  make  fully  as  many 
proselytes  if  not  more  than  the  others. 

"  9.  Special  exertions  should  be  made  to  com- 
ply as  much  as  possible  with  the  Rules  of  the 
Society,  not   to   let   the  weak  female   disciples 


570  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX. 

outdo  the  strong  and  perfect  master,  which  the 
confessor  ought  to  be. 

"  It  appears  then,  that  confessors  of  this  cast 
woukl  be  very  scarce,  and  could  not  well  be 
found  but  in  an  institute  of  males  of  a  similar 
description.  He  who  presides  over  the  keeping 
of  the  rules,  should  be  the  first  observer  of  them. 
The  writer  feels  ashamed  of  his  own  cowardice. 
The  necessity  of  such  an  institute  is  an  absolute- 
one  for  the  preservation  of  the  Society  as  it  ex- 
ists now,*  It  is  impossible  to  keep  up  the 
spirit  of  the  Society,  if  the  members  of  it  are 
under  the  direction  of  isolated  priests,  not  regu- 
lars, who,  as  they  differ  greatly  in  practice,  need 
differ  as  much  in  theory,  whilst  a  fixed  theory 
may  be  called  the  '  Spirit  of  the  Society.'  " 

^' Note.  What  is  here  said,  was  written 
March  4,  1820,  a  little  while  before  I  went  to 
Europe  on  business,  from  whence  I  returned  in 
IN'ovember,  1821.  During  that  time  the  Society 
suffered  much,  and  was  not  a  little  exposed ; 
what  I  insinuated  in  No.  9  above,  remains  then 
unquestionably  true." 

*We  may  infer  from  this  passage  what  Rev.  Nerinckx  had 
in  fiew  in  establishing  a  brotherhood.  First,  of  course,  the  edu- 
cation of  males,  but  also  the  direction  of  his  sisterhood.  In 
time,  the  Society  would  have  obtained  some  subjects  called  to 
and  qualified  for  the  y)riesthood,  who  would  have  acted  as  direc- 
tors of  both  branches  of  the  Institute. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

1824-1847. 

The  Loretto  Society. — Apple  Creek,  Perry  county,  Mo.,  etc. — 
Cape  Girardeau,  Mo. — Father  Nerincelx'  library. — Cedar 
Grove,  Louisville,  Ky. — Mission  among  the  Osage  Indians  in: 
1847.— Interesting  account  of  their  customs. 

We  will   now  cast   a  rapid   glance  over  the- 
subsequent  history  of  the  Loretto  Society. 

At  Father  Nerinckx'  death  one  hundred  and 
twenty-one  sisters  had  joined  the  Society,  of 
whom  eighteen  had  died.  Mother  Juliana  re- 
mained at  the  Barrens,  Perry  county.  Mo.,  and 
Mother  Isabella  Clarke  became  Dear  Mother. 
Father  Chabrat  was  continued  ecclesiastical  su- 
perior of  Loretto  until  1834,  when  he  became 
Coadjutor  Bishop  of  Bardstown.  Under  his  ad- 
ministration the  new  chapel  was  dedicated  in 
1826,  but  no  new  foundations  were  made  in  Ken- 
tucky by  the  Mother-House.  Sister  Sabina 
O'Brien  succeeded  Sister  Isabella  as  Dear 
Mother  that  same  year,  and  remained  in  office 
until  1832,  when  Mother  Josephine  Kelly,  of 
Missouri,  was  elected  to  fill  her  place. 

Some  attempts  at  colonization  were  made  by 
the  Bethlehem  foundation  of   Perry  county,  but 

(571) 


572  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1824- 

they  were  not  permanent;  perhaps,  owing  to 
the  fact  that,  in  the  mind  of  Father  Nerinckx, 
its  founder,  the  Loretto  Society's  aim  is  not  so 
much  the  establishment  of  parochial  schools,  as 
self-supporting  houses,  such  as  academies,  or- 
phan asylums,  and  preparatory  schools  for  first 
communicants.  St.  Joseph's  parochial  school, 
Apple  Creek,  Perry  county.  Mo.,  was  the  first 
foundation  of  the  kind,  attempted  in  1831,  Sis- 
ter Eulalia  Kelly,  Superior.  This  place  had 
been  given  to  the  sisters  by  a  good  old  German 
catholic,  Mr.  Snowbusch,  but  it  was  no  situation 
for  a  school.  These  sisters,  three  in  number, 
were  moved  to  St.  Mary's,  New  Madrid,  in  the 
same  State,  November  2,  1832 ;  the}^  struggled 
for  over  six  years  against  fever  and  sickness, 
and  were  finally  recalled  to  Bethlehem,  June 
24,  1837. 

Sister  Benedicta  Fenwick  was  sent,  in  Oc- 
tober, 1832,  with  five  other  sisters,  to  open  a 
school  at  St,  Michael's,  FredericJctown,  Mo. ;  they 
returned  home  in  April,  1836. 

A  flourishing  house,  called  Our  Lady  of 
Mount  Carmel,  was  established  by  Sister  Agnes 
Hart  and  seven  others,  at  Ste.  Genevieve,  Mo., 
(where  Father  Nerinckx  had  died  thirteen 
years  previous,)  June  24,  1837.  It  was  sup- 
pressed in  August,  1858. 

Rev.  Walter  Coomes  succeeded  Bishop  Cha- 
brat  as  Ecclesiastical  Superior  in  1834,  but  the 
increasing  wants  of  the  catholics  soon  required 
his  active  co-operation  on  the  mission,  and  from 


1847.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  573 

1835  till  1846,  all  authority  was  centered  in  the 
Dear  Mother,  under  the  immediate  jurisdiction 
of  Bishop  Chabrat, 

Sister  Isabella  Clarke  was  re-elected  Dear 
Mother  in  1838,  and  under  her  administration 
the  Society  began  to  get  over  financial  embar- 
rassments, which  had  been  a  serious  obstacle  to 
its  progress.  The  sisters  were  invited  to  St. 
Mary's,  near  Pine  Bluffs,  Arkansas,  the  same 
year,  and  sister  Agnes  Hart,  with  two  others, 
were  sent  there,  the  11th  of  October,  1838. 
Mr.  Crede  Taylor,  Francis  Vangine,  and  some 
other  good  catholics  gave  them  a  small  strip  of 
land  with  some  log  and  two  frame  buildings. 
St.  Joseph's,  Little  Bock,  was  established  from  this 
house,  January  14,  1841,  Sister  Alodia  Vessels, 
Superior.  She  and  the  two  other  sisters  were 
recalled  to  Loretto,  Ky.,  April  24,  1845.  The 
Sisters  of  St.  Mary's,  near  Pine  Bluffs,  were 
moved  to  St.  Ambrose,  Post  Arkansas,  in  Au- 
gust, 1842,  and  recalled  home  to  Loretto  in 
May,  1845. 

Bethlehem,  Perry  county.  Mo.,  was  moved  to 
St.  Vincent's,  Cape  Girardeau,  in  the  same 
State,  where  a  convent  and  academy  were  estab- 
lished in  November,  1838,  and  put  under  the 
direction  of  Mother  Benedicta  Fenwick  and 
seven  sisters.  This  institution  flourishes  to 
this  day. 

In  1839,  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Flaget  brought 
with  him,  from  Europe,  three  French  ladies, 
two  of  whom  were  candidates  for  the  Loretto 


.574  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1824- 

Society.  Money  being  a  very  scarce  article  at 
Loretto  in  those  days,  he  arranged  with  Bishop 
Chabrat  to  pay  their  traveling  expenses  with  a 
portion  of  Father  Nerinckx'  books.  Mother 
Isabella  objected,  that,  by  the  express  terms  of 
the  founder's  last  will,  the  library  was  to  remain 
^t  Loretto  for  the  use  of  the  priest  who  had 
<3harge  of  the  Society.  But,  considering  the  lit- 
tle use  to  Loretto  of  that  very  select  collection 
of  ecclesiastical  authors,  and  the  great  benefit 
which  the  seminarians  would  derive  from  such 
a  valuable  acquisition,  the  director  quieted  her 
scruples,  and  carried  away  most  of  the  books 
over  to  the  Seminary  in  1841.  The  remainder 
were  taken  away  under  Bishop  Spalding. 

Bishop  Flaget  also  entertained  a  gfeat  desire 
of  possessing  an  institution  for  the  education  of 
the  deaf  and  dumb,  and  having  on  hand  a  dona- 
tion of  several  hundred  dollars  which  he  could 
apply  to  a  charitable  purpose  of  his  own  selec- 
tion, he  induced  the  Loretto  Sisters  to  try  the 
experiment ;  accordingly,  three  children  were 
admitted  in  1840.  But  Bishop  Chabrat  strongly 
urged  upon  the  prelate  the  claims  of  the  Semi- 
nary, which  was  in  great  need  of  assistance,  and 
the  intended  means  of  support  having  thus  been 
withdraw  from  the  establishment,  the  attempt 
failed. 

The  Cedar  Grove  property,  Portland,  Ky., 
now  better  known  as  Mount  St.  Benedict,  near 
Louisville,  was  bought  in  the  Spring  of  1842, 
by   Bishop    Chabrat  for  $1,200,   and    the   sis- 


1847.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  575 

ters  founded  the  now  flourishing  academy  on 
the  16th  of  August,  of  the  same  year.  The 
place  was  deeded  by  Bishop  Spalding  to  the  Lo- 
retto  Sisters  in  1856,  the  consideration  being 
:|4,000. 

Dear  Mother  .Generose  Mattingly  was  ap- 
pointed as  successor  to  Sister  Isabella  in  1842 ; 
and  Mother  Berlindis  Downs,  whom  the  Bishop 
had  named  to  succeed  her  in  1843,  was  elected 
Dear  Mother  by  the  community  in  1849,  after 
she  had  already  acted  as  such  for  two  terms. 

Under  her  administration,  and  by  the  advice 
of  Rev.  Father  David  A.  Deparcq,  who  had 
been  appointed  ecclesiastical  superior  in  1846, 
four  Loretto  Sisters  were  directed  to  leave  Ste. 
Genevieve,  Mo.,  on  the  9th  of  September,  1847, 
under  the  escort  of  Rev.  J.  Schoenmakers,  S.  J., 
to  open  a  manual  labor  school  among  the  female 
portion  of  the  Osage  Indians. 

This  mission  had  been  for  several  years  in  the 
hands  of  the  Presbyterians,  who,  convinced  that 
their  Calvinistic  teachings  would  remain  barren 
among  the  Indians,  abandoned  it  in  1845.  In 
the  course  of  the  same  year,  Major  Harvey, 
Superintendent  of  the  Indian  tribes,  having  as- 
sembled in  council  the  several  tribes  of  the 
Osage  nation,  exposed  to  them,  in  the  liveliest 
colors,  the  great  advantages  of  a  good  education, 
adding  that  their  Great  Father,  the  President, 
would  send  them  missionaries  to  instruct  their 
children,  if  they  so  desired.  One  of  the  chiefs 
replied  that  the  only  missionaries  they  wished 


576  T^IFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1824- 

for,  were  the  Black-gowns  who  had  visited  them 
many  years  ago.  In  fact,  Rev,  Father  De  La- 
croix  had  visited  the  Osages  in  1820,  and  Father 
Van  Quiekenborne,  S.  J.,  as  well  as  Rev.  Mr. 
Lutz,  were  among  them  several  years  later.  The 
Superintendent,  a  just  and  liberal  man,  com- 
municated the  Indian's  rej^ly  to  the  government, 
supporting  their  demand  as  a  just  and  beneficial 
one.  In  pursuance  of  his  advice  the  President 
requested  the  Superiors  of  the  Society  of  Jesus 
to  take  charge  of  the  mission,  and  they  ac- 
cepted. 

In  the  Autumn  of  1846,  the  Rev.  Father 
Schoenmakers  went  to  examine  the  state  of  af- 
fairs at  the  mission  situated  on  the  Neosho 
river,  a  tributary  of  the  Arkansas,  forty  miles 
from  Fort  Scott,  and  one  hundred  and  thirty 
miles  from  Westport,  a  frontier  town  of  the 
State  of  Missouri.  He  came  back  to  St. 
Louis  in  mid- Winter ;  and  left  definitely  for  that 
mission,  the  7th  of  April,  1847,  accompanied  by 
Father  J.  J.  Bax,  S.  J.,  and  three  coadjutor 
brothers.  To  the  great  surprise  and  delight  of 
the  Indians,  who  had  mourned  Father  Schoen- 
makers' departure  and  his  prolonged  absence  with 
little  hoj)e  for  his  return,  the  missionaries  ar- 
rived at  Osage  Mission,  the  28th  of  the  same- 
month,  and  a  school  was  opened  on  the  10th  of 
May.  Before  the  close  of  the  year  1847,  the 
council  had  to  petition  their  Great  Father  to 
enlarge  the  houses  of  the  mission,  so  well  was 


1847.]         LIFE  OF    REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  577 

the  school  attended,  and  the  government  acceded 
to  this  request. 

The  chiefs  soon  manifested  an  ardent  desire 
to  enjoy  the  same  educational  blessings  for 
their  daughters.  Father  Schoenmakers  re- 
solved to  interest  a  generous  and  fervent  com- 
munity of  nuns  in  the  education  of  the  Osage 
girls.  With  this  intention,  he  went  to  St, 
Louis,  but  he  knocked  in  vain  at  the  door  of 
several  convents  of  that  city ;  the  enterprise 
frightened  every  one.*  At  length,  he  addressed 
himself  to  the  Sisters  of  Loretto,  Kentucky; 
and,  remembering  the  last  wishes  of  their  gen- 
erous founder,  the  Superiors  eagerly  accepted 
the  offer. 

After  remaining  about  ten  days  in  St.  Louis, 
making  preparations  for  their  long  trip,  and 
purchasing  clothing  and  other  necessary  articles 
for  the  Indian  children  who  were  to  be  placed 
under  their  care,  the  sisters  embarked  on  the 
steamer  J.  J.  Hardon  about  the  20th  of  Septem- 
ber, 1847,  and,  after  many  delays  on  the  sand- 
bars of  the  Missouri,  they  reached  Kansas  Cityy. 
at  that  period,  the  western  end  of  civilization. 
A  few  straggling  log  or  frame  houses  were,  at 
that  time,  dignified  by  that  name ;  but  the  sis- 
ters found  there  the  kindliest  hospitality  at  the 
house  of  Mrs.  Chouteau,  the  leading  lady  of  the 
place,  a  good    catholic   and   a  real   mother  to- 

*Cfr.  "Western  Missions  and  Missionaries,"  by  Father  Des- 
met,  pg.  350,  sqq. 


578  LIFE  OF  KEV.  CHAELES  NERINCKX.        [1824- 

priests  and  religious.  As  the  good  sisters  had 
never  traveled  away  from  civilization,  they 
knew  very  little  of  the  difficulties  often  en- 
countered in  crossing  the  vast  prairies  of  the 
West,  and  of  the  dangers  attending  camping- 
out  at  night.  Mrs.  Chouteau  proved  her  ma- 
ternal kindness  to  them,  by  preparing  every 
thing  necessary  for  their  tedious  journey  of 
one  hundred  and  fifty  miles. 

Kev.  Schoenmakers  hired  a  two-horse  wagon, 
and,  on  the  2d  of  October,  1847,  the  little  cara- 
van, consisting  of  the  Jesuit  Father,  Mr.  Jar- 
boe,  Mother  Concordia,  and  Sisters  Bridget, 
Mary,  and  Yincentia,  started  for  the  Osage 
Mission.  Nothing  unusual  occurred  during  their 
first  day's  journey  to  mar  the  happy  cheerful- 
ness of  our  missionaries,  but  when  night  came, 
the  sisters  wondered  not  a  little  to  see  nothing 
before  them  but  the  immense  waste  of  prairie  and 
the  sky  above.  However,  under  the  guidance 
of  the  priest,  they  pushed  bravely  on,  and  they 
soon  perceived  in  the  distance  the  hoped  for 
shelter,  a  little  building  which  would  hardly  ac- 
commodate the  party,  the  only  house  between 
Kansas  City  and  the  mission.  But  they  soon 
found  out  that  they  had  been  forestalled;  the 
building  was  crowded;  nothing  daunted,  the 
sisters  alighted,  and,  having  spread  a  cloth  on 
the  grass,  they  had  reason  to  be  thankful  for  the 
kind  forethought  of  Madame  Chouteau,  and  did 
honor  to  the  excellent  provisions  she  had  given 
them.  After  night  prayers,  Father  Schoenmakers 


1847.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  579 

and  Mr.  Jarboe  were  soon  snugly  ensconced  under 
their  blankets  on  the  grass,  whilst  the  sisters 
reclined  as  best  they  could  on  some  clothing 
Avhich  had  been  spread  in  the  wagon  for  their 
night's  rest.  Morning  dawned  at  last,  and  was 
thankfully  welcomed  by  the  poor  sisters,  little 
accustomed  to  such  open  air  sleeping  quarters. 
Sister  Vincentia  soon  bestirred  herself  making 
coifee  over  a  blazing  fire,  and  they  all  partook 
with  much  zest  of  the  scanty  breakfast,  not  a 
little  amused  at  the  novelt}^  of  their  situation, 
and,  in  Indian  fashion,  they  sat  upon  the  grass. 

The  journey  was  now  resumed,  and  the  morn- 
ing hours  passed  swiftly  by,  as  our  travelers 
spent  most  of  them  in  devotions,  whilst  their 
thoughts  reverted  to  the  sisters  at  home,  who 
had  the  happiness  of  assisting  at  the  Holy 
Sacrifice  of  the  Mass  on  this  bright  Sunday 
morning.  At  noon,  they  reached  a  spot  called 
Cool  Water  Grove ;  here  they  met  some  peace- 
able Miami  Indians,  the  chief  of  whom  spoke 
English  enough  to  make  himself  understood. 
Father  Schoenmakers  and  the  sisters  visited  his 
tent,  and  were  delighted  to  learn  that  his  chil- 
dren had  been  educated  by  sisters  in  Tennessee. 
After  a  short  rest  they  proceeded  on  their  jour- 
ney, and,  at  night,  reached  a  trading-post  where 
they  were  kindly  received ;  however,  the  Indian 
saddles,  trunks,  and  pelts,  which  filled  the  place, 
emitted  a  most  insupportable  odor  which  ren- 
dered their  stay  there  any  thing  but  agreeable. 
JN'othing  but  the  welcome  sight  of  a  gentleman 


580  LIFE  OF  KEV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  [1824. 

on  horseback,  the  only  white  man  they  had  seen 
since  leaving  Kansas  City,  relieved  the  tedious- 
ness  of  their  third  day's  journey ;  and  they  en- 
camped near  the  Osage  lands.  This  was  truly 
a  night  of  horrors  for  the  poor  sisters ;  the  ap- 
palling stillness  of  the  boundless  prairie  was 
only  broken  by  the  wild  howls  of  the  prairie 
wolves,  and  the  darkness  of  the  night  only 
served  to  increase  their  terror.  Left  to  them- 
selves in  a  wild  country,  far  from  all  human  aid, 
they  fervently  invoked  that  Divine  Providence 
which  Father  Nerinckx  had  taught  them  to  rely 
upon  with  such  unbounded  confidence,  and  their 
fears  soon  subsided;  they  felt  that  they  were 
under  the  powerful  protection  of  Him,  for  whom 
they  had  sacrificed  every  earthly  gratification. 

About  noon  of  the  fourth  day,  they  reached 
Mr.  Papin's  trading-post,  ten  miles  from  the 
Missouri ;  here,  men,  women,  and  children  had 
assembled  to  meet  Father  Schoenmakers  and 
his  little  band.  "At  first  sight,"  writes  one  of 
the  sisters,  "these  Indians  seem  more  like^ 
spirits  of  the  lower  regions  than  human  beings ;. 
the  grandees  among  them  are  more  frightful 
in  appearance  than  the  common  class.  The  lat- 
ter are  filthy  and  almost  without  covering ;  the 
former  are  painted  red,  black,  green,  and  yel- 
low ;  their  heads  are  adorned  with  eagle  claws, 
shells,  heads  of  birds,  and  feathers  of  various 
kinds." 

In  the  afternoon,  our  party  left  the  post,  and 
proceeded  to  their  mission  home,  the  wagon  be- 


1847.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  581 

ing  followed  by  some  fifty  boys  in  a  state  of 
•complete  nudity.  Father  Bax,  S.  J.,  accompa- 
nied by  a  dozen  little  boys,  came  to  greet  our 
travelers  at  their  arrival.  The  good  sisters 
were  immediately  introduced  into  their  new 
home,  made  of  hewed  logs,  two  stories  high. 
They  became  at  once  the  one  object  of  the  curi- 
osity of  the  inquisitive  Indians,  who  would  go 
every  little  while  and  look  at  them  through  the 
numerous  crevices  with  which  the  ill-constructed 
house  abounded.  A  few  split  saplings  roughly 
set  on  four  round  sticks  to  imitate  benches,  were 
the  only  furniture  of  the  place ;  a  bench,  made 
by  Mr.  Jarboe  out  of  a  piece  of  rough  board, 
and  long  enough  to  accommodate  the  four  sis- 
ters, proved  quite  a  commodious  seat  to  the 
poverty-loving  Friends  of  Mary. 

On  the  10th  of  October,  the  sisters  opened 
the  school  with  four  pupils,  three  half-breeds 
and  one  Osage.  In  a  few  months  the  school 
^counted  eighty  children,  who,  thanks  to  the  in- 
defatigable zeal  of  their  teachers,  soon  became 
quite  proficient  in  reading,  writing,  elementary 
arithmetic,  grammar,  and  geography,  and  had 
acquired  some  knowledge  of  drawing,  painting, 
and  all  kinds  of  needle-work.  Some  learned 
music  with  great  success,  for  the  Osages  are 
fond  of  singing ;  and  it  was  edifying  to  the  mis- 
sionaries, and  a  great  gratification  to  the  Indian 
parents,  to  hear  the  dear  children  sing  hymns 
and  canticles  during  divine  service  on  Sundays 
and  festivals.     This  success,  of  course,  was  not 


582  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1824- 

reachecl   without  much   trouble   to  the  sisters, 


but  here,  like  everywhere  else,  they  proved 
true  children  of  Loretto,  faithful  to  the  spirit 
of  their  holy  founder.  Says  Father  Bax,  S.  J.  :* 
"  Their  sufferings,  their  trials,  and  their  priva- 
tions were  very  great.  They  were  obliged  to- 
sleep  in  the  open  air.  That  did  not  hinder  two 
other  sisters  from  coming  to  join  them  a  little 
after  in  their  heroic  enterprise.  Their  patience, 
their  kindness,  their  courage  and  their  j^ersever- 
ance,  have  gained  the  esteem,  affection,  and  love 
of  every  one.  They  are  succeeding ;  they  have 
already  produced  a  considerable  change,  and 
are  doing  great  good.  The  talents  displayed  in 
the  direction  of  their  school,  and  the  rapid  pro- 
gress of  the  children  are  admired  by  all  the 
strangers  who  visit  this  community." 

The  school  being  a  manual  labor  establish- 
ment, the  girls  learned  to  cook,  wash,  iron,  bake, 
sew,  knit,  etc.,  and  their  industry  soon  pro- 
cured for  the  boys  pants,  vests,  and  other  gar- 
ments, to  replace  the  little  ragged  blanket 
which  formerly  was  their  only  scanty  attire. 
Bead,  shell,  and  other  ftincy  work  proved  a  fa- 
vorite occupation  to  the  Indian  maidens,  wha 
have  a  wonderful  taste  for  such  ornaments  that 
gratify  their  unsophisticated  vanity.  They  con- 
sidered it  a  great  privilege  to  work  for  the  altar, 
and  made  laces,  albs,  vestments,  etc. ;  later  on, 
when  other  churches  were  built  in  the  neighbor- 

*In  "  Western  Missions  and  Missionaries,"  by  Father  Desmet^ 

pg.  360. 


1847.]         LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  583 

ing  missions,  the  children  delighted  in  furnish- 
ing them  with  all  the  necessary  ornaments. 

As  the  Indian  children  were  not  used  to  con- 
finement, in  fact,  quite  averse  to  it,  the  mission- 
aries were  obliged  to  give  them  many  recrea- 
tions. On  those  days,  they  wandered  through 
the  woods,  gathering  nuts  and  wild  grapes,  or 
disported  themselves  in  the  clear  waters  of  the 
"beautiful  Neosho,  for  Indian  papooses  take  ta 
the  water  like  ducks.  However,  when  the  el- 
ders were  absent  on  a  hunting  expedition,  which 
happened  twice  a  year,  the  girls,  naturally 
timid,  were  afraid  to  ramble  in  the  forest,  and 
kei^t  close  to  their  guardian  angels'  side. 

"After  the  ground  was  plowed,  and  corn  and 
wheat  sowed  by  the  squaws,  who  do  all  the 
heavy  work,  the  whole  tribe  started  for  the  buf- 
falo hunt.  Not  a  being  was  left  behind,  the 
children  being  left  to  be  cared  for  by  brothers 
and  sisters  under  the  supervision  of  Father 
Schoenmakers,  who,  like  a  good  shepherd,  gen- 
erously provided  for  his  numerous  flock  (like 
the  primitive  christians,  we  have  all  things  in 
common).  The  sick  ones  were  stretched  on  a 
pony,  a  pack  on  each  side  of  the  animal  pre- 
venting their  falling  oif.  On  their  return,  the 
corn  was  ripe  and  undisturbed,  though  no  fences 
were  made  to  secure  it.  This  precaution  was 
unnecessary  ;  the  Indians  keep  no  other  animals 
but  horses  and  dogs,  and  although  they  have 
them  in  great  numbers,  they  take  them  all  with 
them  to  the  hunt. 


584  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1824- 

"  The  Indian  is  at  home  in  any  part  of  the 
prairie ;  the  women,  in  a  few  hours,  make  ex- 
cellent tents.  The  men  shoot  and  kill  the 
game ;  the  women  attend  to  the  drying  of  the 
meat;  this  is  done  by  a  fire  made  of  buffalo 
chips,  as  they  call  them,  no  wood  being  obtain- 
able for  miles  around.  The  Indians  are  very 
fond  of  that  meat,  and  on  their  return  from  the 
hunt,  they  bring  their  children  some  packs  of 
it ;  the  little  ones  rejoice  over  this  as  much  as 
white  children  do  over  candy.  Occasionally, 
some  Indian  offered  a  buffalo  tongue  to  the  sis- 
ters ;  in  presenting  the  gift,  he  would  say :  '  I 
thought  of  you,  way  yonder !'  This  was  one  of 
their  best  turned  compliments.  Before  going  to 
the  hunt,  they  always  brought  to  the  sisters 
their  most  valuable  objects  to  keep  for  them. 
One  of  them  once  opened  his  trunk  on  his  re- 
turn, to  see  whether  all  was  right  within ;  to  the 
horror  of  the  poor  sisters,  he  displayed  a  hand- 
ful of  scalps  at  which  he  looked  with  much 
complacency,  shaking  the  long  hair,  whilst  his 
eyes  sparkled  with  delight.  These  were  his 
treasures ! 

"  When  a  respectable  person  among  them 
dies,  his  friends  kill  a  horse  on  the  grave  of  the 
deceased,  while  a  party  of  warriors  go  in  search 
of  an  enemy  whom  they  kill  and  scalp.  They 
then  imagine  the  dear  departed  happy  in  his 
new  hunting-grounds,  as  he  has  a  horse  to  ride 
on  and  a  servant  to  wait  on  him. 

"  One  of  the  boys  was  taken  sick  at  the  mis- 


1847.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  585 

sion.  His  father  had  him  removed  to  his  tent ; 
the  consequence  was,  the  poor  boy  took  cold, 
and  died.  The  Indian  was  sorely  perplexed, 
not  knowing  what  to  do  with  him  ;  he  consulted  a 
friend:  'My  boy,'  said  he,  'loved  the  white 
men,  yet,  he  belongs  to  the  tribe ;  to  whom  shall 
I  send  him  ?  '  The  friend  advised  him  to  send 
him  to  the  Black-gown ;  accordingly,  he  was 
brought  back  to  the  mission,  dressed  and  buried 
according  to  our  customs.  This  was  what  they 
called  giving  him  over  to  the  white  men.  The 
Osages  seldom  put  their  dead  under  the  ground. 
They  place  them  in  a  sitting  posture,  clothed  in 
a  buffalo  robe,  a  fan  in  the  hand,  beads  of  various 
colors  about  the  neck,  and  near  them  various 
trinkets,  even  coffee  and  sugar. 

"  The  manner  of  mourning  among  the  Indians 
is  quite  singular.  The  women  cut  and  disfigure 
their  hair,  which  is  naturally  beautiful,  and  put 
a  large  patch  of  mud  on  the  right  side  of  the 
head.  They  do  not  eat,  as  long  as  that  symbol 
of  grief  is  there.  However,  if  they  are  invited 
to  eat  by  various  persons  whom  they  respect, 
they  show  their  deference  by  calling  for  water 
and  washing  off  the  mud ;  they  then  comply 
with  the  desire  of  their  friends.  But  it  must  be 
remembered  that  this  is  a  very  high  mark  of 
esteem.  Once  a  woman  brought  a  little  girl  to 
the  mission;  Sister  Bridget  gave  the  child  a 
good  bathing,  dressed  her,  and  cut  her  hair, 
trimming  it  nicely,  so  as  to  give  the  little  one  a 
better   appearance.     The   mother  having  come 


586  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHAKLES  NERTNCKX.         [1824- 

in,  immediately  raised  the  Indian  whoop,  and 
exclaimed :  'Alas !  a  stranger  has  done  what 
thy  mother  should  have  done  herself;  thy 
mother  should  have  made  thee  mourn  for  thy 
dead  father.'  The  mourning  of  the  men  is  some- 
what different:  they  let  the  hair  grow  very 
long,  they  disfigure  their  faces  with  mud  and 
white  clay,  then  go  day  after  day  to  the  grave 
of  the  dear  departed,  where  they  sing,  or  rather 
howl,  most  pitifully. 

"  The  Osages  require  great  attention  from 
their  relatives  in  time  of  sickness.  To  uncles 
and  aunts  they  give  the  title  of  little  fathers  and 
mothers ;  and,  if  one  of  them  fails  to  visit  a  sick 
child,  the  other  relatives  hack  their  heads  like^ 
mince-meat.  When  a  child  died  at  the  mission, 
the  parents  required  payment  from  the  fathers 
and  sisters,  which  they  usually  paid  in  blankets, 
calico,  or  such  like  things.  The  sisters  had  a 
little  girl,  a  daughter  of  Red  Eagle,  who,  after  a 
lingering  sickness  of  some  months,  died.  Red 
Eagle  was  so  enraged,  that  he  went  to  the  mis- 
sion with  the  avowed  purpose  of  whipping  the  sis- 
ters! Father  Schoenmakers  sent  Sam.  Beve- 
nan,  an  Indian,  to  remain  in  the  sisters'  house, 
and  prevent  the  chief  from  effecting  his  pur- 
pose. It  is  doubtful  whether  Sam.  would  have 
succeeded ;  but,  fortunately,  an  Indian  woman, 
named  Gray  Heels,  happened  to  be  in  the  house 
when  Red  Eagle  came,  and  she  told  him,  in  the 
Osage  tongue,  that  the  sisters  had  been  very 
good  toward  his  child,  and  had  given  her  plenty  of 


1847.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  587 

water.  It  is  an  Indian  notion,  that,  in  sickness, 
water  is  the  most  efficient  remedy.  This  paci- 
fied the  fellow;  he  left,  not,  however,  without 
his  pay,  namely,  a  blanket  and  about  ten  yards 
of  calico ! 

"  If  one  Indian,  in  a  quarrel,  kill  another,  (a 
case  seldom  met  with,)  the  murderer  has  to  pay 
for  that  death  with  all  his  horses  and  whatso- 
ever else  belongs  to  him ;  these  are  distributed 
amongst  the  relatives  of  the  murdered  man. 

"  The  Osages  have  many  faults  ;  they  are  sen- 
sitive and  jealous;  but  they  have  a  catholie 
heart.  No  missionaries  belonging  to  other  de- 
nominations have  ever  succeeded  in  gaining 
them  to  their  opinions.  The  fathers  and  sis- 
ters always  found  them  ready  to  learn  their 
prayers  and  catechism.  On  the  first  Christmas 
of  1847,  only  two,  besides  the  religious,  went  to 
holy  Communion ;  but  on  the  Christmas  of 
1848,  several  boys  and  girls  made  their  first 
Communion.  Many  of  the  children  had  been 
baptized  by  some  traveling  missionary,  a  few 
years  previous ;  they  kept  the  picture  which 
the  priest  had  given  them,  as  a  record  of  their 
baptism.  But  it  has  been  a  source  of  real  sor- 
row to  the  good  missionaries  and  sisters,  to  have 
effected  so  little  permanent  good  among  them, 
notwithstanding  their  energetic  efforts,  and 
their  self-devotion  ;  however,  they  have  the  con- 
solation of  having  baptized  thousands  of  infants, 
who  are  now  glorifying  their  Creator  in  heaven, 

"Mother   Concordia,   and   after  her,   Mother 


588  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1824- 

Bridget,  well  understood  the'  sublimity  of  their 
holy  mission;  and  under  their  kind  maternal 
sway,  the  sisters  faithfully  followed  their  exam- 
ple. Oh !  that  I  could  describe  the  trouble,  the 
anxiety,  they  suffered  for  those  poor  children, 
most  of  them  covered  with  most  disgusting 
sores !  With  what  tenderness  they  washed  and 
dressed  those  ulcers,  so  revolting  to  nature. 
They  had  imbibed  the  beautiful  maxim  of  their 
holy  founder:  "  Gain  souls,  buy  souls,  at  whatever 
cost;''^  many  a  one  was  purchased  for  a  few 
yards  of  calico.  This  bribe  did  not  prove  suf- 
ficient in  the  case  of  an  old  woman  whose  sickly 
child  the  sisters  were  most  anxious  to  baptize ; 
but  the  tempting  offer  of  some  fruit  made  her 
yield  at  last.  The  little  one  was  baptized,  and 
named  Joseph,  and  shortly  after,  God,  in  his 
mercy,  took  the  dear  little  soul  to  himself. 
There  are  few  children  raised  among  the 
Indians,  most  of  them  die  young.  Of  the 
great  number  of  families  who  were  in  and  about 
the  Osage  mission,  the  sisters  knew  but  two 
women  who  raised  four  children  to  maturity; 
and  of  all  the  girls  who  were  raised  at  the  mis- 
sion during  the  first  fifteen  years,  and  who  after- 
ward married,  not  ten  are  living  now."  * 

After  the  treaty  of  1866,  with  the  government, 
the  poor  Osage  Indians  reluctantly  left  their  beau- 
tiful lands  of  the  ?^'eosho,  and  their  dear  Mission 
Home,  to  remove  further  West.  A  new  mission 
was  formed  by  the  government,  and,  against  all 

*  Narrative  by  one  of  the  sisters,  1874. 


1847.]  LIFE  OF  EEV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  589. 

equity  and  justice,  given  to  the  Quakers,  not- 
withstanding the  energetic  protest  of  the  Osages. 
The  Osage  mission  town,  settled  by  whites,  soon 
replaced  the  Indian  tent,  and  is  built  on  the  site 
of  the  Indians'  burying-ground ;  to  procure  for 
the  white  children  the  advantages  of  education, 
of  which  the  unfortunate  Indian  progeny  had 
been  deprived,  the  Sisters  of  Loretto  soon  laid 
the  foundation  of  a  fine  stone  building,  which 
was  completed  in  three  years,  at  a  cost  of 
$25,000.  The  new  establishment  is  called  St. 
Ann's  Academy,  the  first  of  the  kind  founded  in 
Southern  Kansas ;  and  one  hundred  acres  of 
land  surrounding  it  have  been  deeded  to  the  sis- 
ters. Thanks  to  catholic  enterf)rise  and  zeal, 
the  children  of  the  Kansas  pioneer  enjoy  all  the 
blessings  of  a  truly  christian  education. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

1847-1876. 

Florissant,  Mo. — "  Our  Lady  of  Light,"  New  Mexico. — Burning 
OF  Loretto  Convent,  Ky. — Cairo,  III. — Death  of  Father  D. 
Deparcq. — Denver,  Colorado. — Other  foundations. 

The  Lord  continued  to  bless  the  administra- 
tion of  Mother  Berlindis  Downs,  and  the  Little 
Loretto  Society  grew  every  day  in  usefulness. 

At  the  request  of  Rev.  Van  Assclie,  S.  J., 
pastor  of  the  church  of  St.  Ferdinand,  Florissant, 
Mo.,  who  met  Rev.  D.  A.  Deparcq,  Ecclesias- 
tical Superior  of  the  Lorettines,  at  St.  Louis 
University,  a  colony  of  six  sisters  was  sent  to 
that  beautiful  little  French  village,  situated 
about  sixteen  miles  west  of  St.  Louis,  in  the 
Spring  of  1847.  The  sisters  appointed  for  this 
mission  were ;  Mother  Eleonora  Clarke,  supe- 
rior, Sister  Philomena,  directress  of  studies,  and 
Sisters  Theodosia,  Vincentia,  Ambrosia,  and 
Stanislaus,  assistants.  They  arrived  in  St.  Louis 
on  the  21st  of  June,  and  were  kindly  received 
by  the  Sisters  of  Charity  in  that  city.  The 
evening  of  the  same  day  they  went  out  to  Floris- 
sant, the  Sisters  of  Charity  accompanying  them 

(590) 


3847-76.]    LIFE  OF  EEV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  691 

to  the  village.  The  sisters  took  possession  of  a 
two-story  brick  building  and  some  dilapidated 
old  cabins,  formerly  occupied  by  the  Ladies  of 
the  Sacred  Heart,*  which,  together  with  some 
three  acres  of  land,  they  rented  on  trial  for  one 
year  for  the  sum  of  $200. 

The  first  year  was  one  of  great  poverty  and 
-suffering.  The  day  school,  which  had  been  im- 
mediately opened,  brought  but  an  insignificant 
income,  and,  at  the  end  of  the  scholastic  year, 
there  were  only  fifteen  boarders  in  the  academy. 
The  future  wore  such  a  gloomy  aspect,  that  the 
superior  had  determined  to  return  to  Kentucky, 
when  Father  Van  Assche  negotiated  with  the 
Ladies  of  the  Sacred  Heart  for  the  purchase  of 
the  property,  and  had  the  buildings  and  five 
-acres  of  land  conveyed  to  the  Lorettines  for  the 

*A  colony  of  the  Sacred  Heart  Ladies,  with  Madame  Duchesne 
as  superior,  sailed  from  Royan,  France,  for  the  United  States,  ou 
March  21,  1818.  They  came  at  the  request  of  Mgr.  Dubourg, 
who  returned  to  Louisiana  in  the  preceding  year.  Madame 
Duchesne  and  her  four  companions  landed  at  New  Orleans,  May 
29th;  after  spending  some  months  with  the  Ursuline  Sisters  of 
that  city,  they  departed  for  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  which  they 
reached,  August  22d;  and,  about  the  beginning  of  September, 
1818,  they  took  up  their  residence  at  St.  Charles,  on  the  banks 
of  the  Missouri  river,  twenty  miles  west  of  St.  Louis.  On  Sep- 
tember 9th  of  the  following  year,  1819,  they  were  compelled  to 
abandon  St.  Charles,  in  order  to  avoid  starvation.  The  ladies 
remained  in  St.  Louis  till  December  following,  and  then  took 
possession  of  their  new  home  adjoining  the  new  brick  church  at 
Florissant,  on  Christmas  eve,  1819.  They  retained  the  house  of 
Florissant,  and  used  it  as  their  novitiate,  till  the  Spring  of  1847, 
when  the  novitiate  was  transferred  to  Grand  Coteau,  Louisiana. 
The  ladies  reopened  their  house  at  St.  Charles  in  the  Autuma 
of  1828,  and  they  are  still  there. 


592  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1847- 

sum  of  $1,000.  The  kind  ladies  remitted  the  two 
hundred  dollars  for  the  first  year's  rent — a  lib- 
eral donation  to  the  struggling  community,  and 
one  duly  appreciated  by  its  members.* 

The  sisters  now  set  to  work  with  renewed  en- 
ergy. All  were  actively  employed  in  various 
kinds  of  manual  labor ;  and  not  only  during  the 
first  year,  but  for  several  succeeding  ones,  did 
poor  Mother  Eleonora  and  her  little  community 
spend  many  a  recreation  hour  shelling  corn,  till 
their  hands  were  bleeding,  in  order  to  be  able  to 
furnish  the  community  with  the  daily  bread. 

The  kindness  of  Mrs.  Jane  Chambers,  and 
family,  of  Florissant,  and  Mrs.  Tijghe,  of  St. 
Louis,  during  the  years  1847-48  will  never  be 
forgotten.  Judge  Mullani:>hy  paid  the  sisters  a 
friendly  visit,  and,  by  way  of  encouragement, 
handed  them  a  check  for  $50;  he  promised, 
moreover,  that,  should  the  sisters  persevere  in 
their  zealous  labors  at  Florissant,  he  would 
lighten  the  burden  of  their  pecuniary  embarrass- 
ments, a  promise  he  was  destined  never  to  fulfill, 
as  an  almost  sudden  death  soon  after,  put  an  end 
to  his  pious  designs. 

However,  Mother  Eleonora  put  her  trust  in 
Providence,  and  bravely  met  the  difficulties  that 
beset  her  on  all  sides  ;  nor  was  her  confidence 
disappointed :  the  darkest  hour  before  the  dawn, 
had  passed  away,  and  the  academy  soon  entered 
upon  the  prosperous  career  which  makes  Floris- 

*Cfr.  "  Life  of  Mother  Barat,"  by  Rev.  Baunard,  Vol.  1,  Chap, 
xiii.,  xiv.,  XX.,  and  Vol.  2.  Chap.,  xii. 


1876.]  LIFE  OF  EEV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  595 

sant  one  of  the  finest  educational  establishments 
of  Missouri.  Five  large  buildings  have  been 
added  for  academical  and  conventual  purposes,  to 
replace  the  poor  cabins  of  former  days,  and  year 
after  year  some  desirable  improvement  adds  to 
the  beauty  of  thej^remises. 

The  heroic  Mother  Eleonora  still  lives  (1878) 
afflicted  by  bodily  sufferings,  but  still  enjoying 
all  the  youthful  cheerfulness  and  courage  of  her 
pioneer  days. 

A  new  field  of  usefulness  was  opened  to  the  mis- 
sionary zeal  of  the  Friends  of  Mary,  in  the  year 
1852.  Right  Rev.  J.  B.  Lamy,  Bishop  of  Santa 
Fe,  New  Mexico,  having  heard  of  the  self-denial 
of  Father  jN'erinckx'  spiritual  children,  and  of 
the  severe  training  they  had  gone  through,  con- 
cluded they  were  the  very  ones  whom  Divine- 
Providence  had  designed  for  the  laborious  mis- 
sions which  the  Holy  See  had  confided  to  his 
pastoral  care.  He  applied  for  a  colony  of  sis- 
ters, and  his  request  was  cheerfully  granted;, 
faithful  to  its  traditions,  and  to  the  injunctions 
of  its  founder,  Loretto  could  not  refuse  a  mis- 
sion which  seemed  to  promise  nothing  but  hard- 
ships and  privations.  Mother  Mathilda  Wills, 
and  Sisters  Catherine,  Mary  Magdalen,  Monica, 
Hilaria,  and  Roberta  were  appointed,  and  left 
Loretto  on  Sunday,  June  27,  1852,  after  Mass, 
arriving  the  same  evening  at  Bardstown,  where' 
they  were  greatly  encouraged  by  the  Jesuit 
Fathers.     They  spent  the  next  day  at  the  Con- 


594  UFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1847- 

vent  of  Cedar  Grove,  in  Portland,  and  arrived 
in  St.  Louis  on  Thursday  morning,  July  1st. 
Archbishop  Kenrick  sent  them  to  the  Sisters  of 
Charity;  but,  Bishop  Lamy  not  having  yet  re- 
turned from  IN^evv  Orleans,  they  profited  by  the 
delay  to  visit  their  house  of  St.  Ferdinand,  Flor- 
issant. As  soon  as  they  heard  of  the  Bishop's 
arrival,  they  joined  him  in  St.  Louis,  and  left 
that  city,  July  10th,  by  the  steamer  Kansas^ 
which  was  to  convey  them  as  far  as  Indepen- 
dence. A  family,  and  some  other  persons  also 
belonged  to  the  Bishop's  suite. 

The  sisters  had  accepted  the  mission  in  a 
true  spirit  of  self-abnegation ;  yet  they  little 
dreamed,  as  the  spires  of  the  city  receded  from 
view,  how  soon  Providence  was  going  to  put 
their  virtue  to  the  test.  "  There  had  already 
been  some  cases  of  cholera  on  board,  when,  on 
Friday,  the  16th,  at  two  a.  m..  Mother  Mathilda 
was  attacked ;  her  sufferings  lasted  till  about 
two  o'clock  in  the  evening  of  the  same  day, 
when  she  gave  up  her  soul  into  the  hands  of  her 
Maker,  after  having  received  the  Sacraments  of 
Penance  and  Extreme  LTnction  from  the  Bishop. 
Two  hours  later,  the  steamer  landed  at  Mr. 
Todd's  warehouse,  six  miles  from  Independence. 
In  the  meantime.  Sister  Monica  had  also  con- 
tracted this  terrible  disease,  and  the  landing 
was  truly  affecting,  the  sisters  following  the 
couch  of  their  dying  sister  and  the  coffin  of 
their  Dear  Mother.  The  inhabitants  stood  in 
.such  dread  of  the  cholera  that  the  sisters  were 


1876.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  595 

not  allowed  to  enter  their  houses,  and  were 
therefore  obliged  to  remain  in  the  warehouse. 

"  The  next  morning,  July  17th,  three  of  the 
sisters,  with  the  Bishop  and  some  other  persons, 
accompanied  the  carriage  which  conveyed  the 
corpse  of  Mother  Mathilda  to  its  last  resting- 
place,  in  the  graveyard  of  Independence.  But 
on  the  way,  they  were  met  by  a  sheriff,  who  had 
been  deputed  by  the  authorities  to  forbid  en- 
trance into  the  town  for  fear  of  contagion ;  how- 
ever, the  Bishop's  firm  attitude,  and  perhaps, 
too,  compassion  at  the  sad  spectacle,  caused  this 
official  to  relent.  They  continued  their  way  to 
the  graveyard,  and  there  they  saw^  the  cold 
earth  receive  into  its  bosom  the  remains  of  her 
whom  they  had  loved  and  reverenced.  Mother 
Mathilda  Mills  was  about  thirty-three  years  old, 
twelve  of  which  she  had  spent  in  the  convent. 
She  possessed  the  virtues  which  adorn  a  relig- 
ious, and  a  sweet  and  amiable  temper  which  en- 
deared her  to  all.  She  had  been  assistant  Su- 
perior, and  member  of  the  Central  Council  two 
years. 

"  The  Bishop  now  took  the  three  sisters, 
Catharine,  Hilaria,  and  Roberta,  to  the  town, 
and  left  them  there,  whilst  Sister  Magdalen  re- 
mained in  the  warehouse  with  Sister  Monica. 
But,  on  the  night  of  the  following  Monday, 
July  19th,  Sister  Magdalen  herself  was  attacked 
with  the  cholera,  and  made  what  she  believed  to 
be  her  last  confession.  The  place  being  ill-suited 
for   ladies,  especially  religious   ones,  sick   unto 


596  LIFE  OF  EEV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1847- 

death,  the  Bishop,  unable  to  make  better  ar- 
rangements, had  the  two  dying  sisters  removed 
to  tents  about  two  miles  from  the  town.  The 
poor  sisters  were  much  better  oif  there  than  in 
the  warehouse,  although  they  had  many  incon- 
veniences to  bear,  and  had  nothing  but  the  can- 
vas tent  to  screen  them  from  the  burning  heat 
of  July.  They  received  every  possible  attention 
from  the  two  ladies  who  formed  part  of  the 
Bishop's  caravan,  particularly  from  Mrs.  Der- 
medy,  who  treated  them  with  a  mother's  care. 
After  a  few  days.  Sister  Magdalen,  began  to  re- 
cover. On  Sunday  morning,  July  23d,  the  three 
sisters  came  from  Independence,  and  heard 
Mass  said  by  Bishop  Lamy,  in  a  tent.  On  the 
following  Thursday,  he  took  the  sisters  to  Mrs. 
Chambers,  who  received  them  kindly,  although 
Sister  Magdalen  was  just  convalescent  from  the 
cholera.  It  was  impossible  for  Sister  Monica  to 
l^roceed  any  further,  her  recovery  being  doubt- 
ful ;  and,  in  spite  of  her  great  desire  of  pursuing 
the  journey  to  New  Mexico  with  the  others,  she 
returned  to  Independence  until  her  health  should 
be  sufficiently  restored  to  return  to  the  convent 
at  Loretto.  As  Sister  Magdalen  could  travel  in 
a  carriage,  although  very  weak,  they  left  Inde- 
pendence on  Saturday,  July  31st,  to  go  to  camp 
some  four  miles  distant,  whither  the  Bishop 
and  her  company  had  already  gone.  After  their 
arrival,  the  sisters  went  to  confession,  and,  tho 
next  morning,  received  Holy  Communion  at  the 
hands  of  the  Bishop. 


1876.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERIXCKX.  597 

"After  the  death  of  Mother  Mathilda,  Sister 
Mao-dalen  was  chosen  to  fill  the  office  of  Su- 
perior;  this  election  was  approved  and  con- 
firmed at  Loretto. 

"On  the  1st  of  August,  they  all  traveled  to- 
gether for  the  first  time,  but  they  had  proceeded 
but  a  few  miles  when  one  of  the  wagons  broke 
down.  On  the  evening  of  the  same  day,  the 
sisters'  tent  could  not  be  pitched  on  account  of 
the  heavy  rain,  and  they  remained  in  the  car- 
riages. During  the  night,  the  rain  continued  to 
pour  in  torrents,  and  the  warring  elements 
seemed  to  bid  each  other  defiance.  The  sisters 
were  much  terrified  at  the  unusal  fury  of  the 
storm,  which  at  times  seemed  ready  to  shatter 
to  pieces  their  frail  tenement,  and  they  sought 
protection  in  prayer. 

"  On  the  Sunday  following,  August  8th, 
Bishop  Lamy  celebrated  the  Holy  Sacrifice  of 
the  Mass  near  the  first  Indian  hut  on  the  road, 
and  gave  a  short  instruction  on  charity  to  his 
company,  the  majority  of  whom  were  outside 
the  tent.  They  reached  Council  Grove  on  the 
eve  of  the  Assumption.  They  confessed  the 
same  evening,  and  the  next  morning,  according 
to  their  rules,  renewed  their  vows  in  time  of 
Mass,  just  before  Holy  Communion.  On  Sun- 
day, August  29th,  they  had  Mass  at  Paimiee 
Fork,  where  they  remained  the  whole  day,  and 
saw  the  first  buifalo  killed.  On  Tuesday,  Sep- 
tember 7th,  the  party  arrived  at  Fort  Atkinson^ 
Kansas,  a  short  distance  from  which  the  sisters 


598  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHAELES  NERINCKX.        [1847- 

were  greatly  terrified,  seeing  tliemselves  sur- 
rounded by  three  or  four  hundred  Indians. 
These  savages  always  loiter  thereabouts,  where 
their  best  hunting  grounds  are  situated,  and, 
when  they  can  do  so  with  impunity,  attack  cara- 
vans. On  this  occasion,  they  seemed  peaceable ; 
the  Bishop  was  even  enabled  to  baptize  the  child 
of  a  captive  Mexican  women.  Still,  as  their  in- 
tentions were  not  known,  the  Bishop  thought  it 
prudent  not  to  make  any  move,  hoping  they 
would  retire ;  but,  as  they  seemed  disposed  to 
remain,  he  ordered  his  company  to  march  in 
the  evening,  and  the  caravan  traveled  all  night, 
as  the  Indians  do  not  generally  make  their  at- 
tacks during  the  night.  The  sisters  remained  in 
the  carriages  all  that  day. 

"After  this,  they  crossed  the  Arkansas,  and 
reached  Cimarron  on  Sunday,  September  12th. 
On  the  14th,  the  Very  Bev.  Vicar-general 
Machebeuf,  with  a  party  of  men  and  animals, 
met  the  caravan  near  Med  river.  This  meeting 
was  most  agreeable,  and  the  assistance  most  op- 
portune, for  the  jaded  animals  had  just  been 
obliged  to  rest  two  days  in  succession.  Friday, 
the  17th,  they  reached  Fort  Bartley ;  this  was 
the  first  time  they  had  slept  under  a  roof  for 
nearly  two  months.  Here  the  Holy  Sacrifice 
was  offered  both  by  Bishop  Lamy  and  Father 
Machebeuf,  a  pretty  large  congregation  having 
assembled  at  the  news  of  the  Bishop's  arrival. 
Saturday,  the  18th,  they  reached  Las  Vegas,  the 
first   Mexican  town   they   had  yet   seen.     The 


18TG.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  599> 

next  morning,  the  Bishop  said  Mass  in  a  private 
dwelling,  not  far  from  the  town,  and  also 
preached.  He  remained  in  Las  Yegas,  and 
sent  Father  Machebeuf  on  with  the  sisters. 
On  the  night  following,  Tuesday,  September 
21st,  they  arrived  at  the  Bishop's  'rancho,'  or 
farm,  about  fifteen  miles  from  Santa  Fe.  Dur- 
ing the  journey,  the  Bishop  said  Mass  every 
Sunday,  and  the  sisters  confessed  and  communi- 
cated. 

"  On  Sunday  the  26th,  the  sisters  left  the 
ranch  and  started  for  Santa  Fe,  where  they  ar- 
rived at  four  p.  M.  The  people,  with  some 
Mexican  priests,  went  several  miles  to  meet 
them ;  as  they  approached  the  city,  the  crowd 
increased  so  much  that  the  carriages  could 
scarcely  pass.  Trium2:)hant  arches  had  been 
erected,  and  the  bells  of  the  different  churches 
were  all  pealing.  The  sisters  were  received  at 
the  door  of  the  cathedral,  and  presented  with 
holy  water  by  a  priest,  then  led  to  the  foot  of 
the  altar,  to  places  prepared  for  them.  The  Te 
Deum  was  sung,  accompanied  by  Mexican  music, 
i.  e.  violin,  guitars,  etc. ;  the  episcopal  blessing 
followed  (the  Bishop  having  entered  Santa  Fe 
the  Thursday  previous).  The  sisters  were  now 
conducted  to  their  house,  by  the  Bishop,  the 
Yicar-general,  and  clergy.  The  house  and  all 
its  appurtenances  were  as  convenient  as  could 
be  expected  in  New  Mexico. 

"  The  sisters  did  not  open  school  immediately, 
as  they  needed  some  time  to  apply  themselves 


600  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1847- 

to  the  study  of  the  language  of  the  country: 
Spanish.  In  November  they  received  their  first 
boarders,  two  chiklren  who  had  lost  their  mother. 
When  they  were  admitted,  the  Bishop  re- 
marked to  Mother  Magdalen  :  '  It  is  well  to 
begin  with  an  act  of  charity.'  The  sisters,  how- 
ever, were  amply  rewarded,  for  the  two  children 
were  baptized  the  next  Christmas,  in  the  convent 
■chapel,  and  when  their  father  withdrew  them 
from  school,  he  paid  for  their  tuition,  whereas 
the  sisters  had  not  expected  to  receive  a  cent. 

"  The  school  opened  in  January,  1853,  with 
ten  boarders  and  three  day  scholars  ;  but,  at  the 
close  of  August,  the  number  had  increased  to 
twenty  boarders  and  twenty-two  day  scholars. 

"  The  house  which  the  sisters  occupied  had 
been  ceded  to  them  by  Bishop  Lamy  who  lived 
in  the  same  building,  but  in  another  square  or 
jdazita  entirely  separated  from  them.  As  their 
house  was  now  too  small,  he,  in  October,  1853, 
gave  up  the  whole  to  them,  and  rented  another 
for  himself. 

"  During  the  Bishop's  absence  in  Europe,  in 
1854,  his  Vicar-general  bought  him  the  then 
l)est  looking  house  in  town,  called  '  la  casa  Ameri- 
cana,^ 'the  American  house,'  because  it  had  a 
shingle  roof,  all  the  other  roofs  in  town  being  flat 
an  covered  with  earth.  The  Bishop  finding  the 
house  too  spacious,  and  in  a  more  retired  part 
of  town,  determined  to  give  it  to  the  sisters ; 
an  orchard  and  grounds  attached  to  it  were 
laid  out,  and  every  thing   being  ready,  he  ex- 


1876.]         LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  601 

changed  with  the  sisters,  who  began  to  occupy 
their  new  home  in  September,  1855."  * 

Soon  after,  the  sisters  secured  the  title  to 
their  new  possession  from  the  Bishop  on  very 
reasonable  terms.  Since  then  the  new  province 
has  prospered  "beyond  all  human  expectations, 
and,  besides  the  house  of  Santa  Fe,  which  has 
been  called  the  convent  of  Our  Lady  of  Light,  it 
possesses  the  following  houses : 

St.  Gertrudes'  in  Mora.  It  was  established 
in  1874,  whilst  Father,  now  Bishop  Salpointe 
was  parish  priest  of  that  place.  The  Bishop 
made  a  present  of  the  original  house  to  the  sis- 
ters, having  built  another  one  for  the  persons 
who  lived  there  in  exchange  for  the  one  he 
wished  to  donate  to  the  sisters.  Mr.  Henry 
Bierbaum  afterward  made  a  donation  of  the 
greater  part  of  the  land  now  in  their  possession. 
New  buildings  have  been  erected  since 

Our  Lady  of  Guadeloupe,  in  Taos.  Rev. 
Gabriel  XJssel  called  the  sisters  there  in  1859, 
and  presented  them  with  a  lot  which  he  pur- 
chased in  exchange  for  his  horse  and  buggy,  giv- 
ing, besides,  $600  toward  the  erection  of  their 
new  buildings. 

A  house  had  also  been  established  in  Albuquer- 
que, district  of  Bernalillo,f  but  was  subsequently 

*  Extracts  from  the  "Annals  of  the  Convent  of  our  Lady  of 
Light,"  written  in  Spanish  by  Mother  M.  Magdalen  Hayden. 

f  Another  was  subsequently  commenced  in  Bernalillo  itself  in 
1875. 


602  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1847- 

broken  up.  A  month  later,  in  1869,  the  Con- 
vent of  Our  Lady  of  Sorrows  was  founded  in 
Las  Vegas,  district  of  San  Miguel.  At  first,  Mr. 
Romualdo  Baca  offered  the  sisters  a  part  of  his 
own  house  for  one  year;  before  its  expiration,. 
he  gave  them  a  deed  for  the  whole  house,  which, 
with  the  grounds  adjoining,  is  considered  to  be 
worth  16000.  However,  the  sisters  will  be 
obliged  to  build  an  entirely  new  house. 

Visitation  Academy,  in  Las  Criices,  in  the 
Mesilla  valley,  belongs  to  the  Vicariate  Apos- 
tolic of  Nebraska,  although  situated  in  New 
Mexico.  The  sisters  were  induced  to  f>-o  there, 
in  1869,  by  the  generosity  of  Bishop  Salpointe,. 
who  had  already  become  their  benefactor  in 
Mora. 

Denver,  Colorado,  was  also  founded  from 
Santa  Fe,  in  1864,  but  is  now  supplied  by  Lo- 
retto,  Ky. 

As  the  Novitiate  of  Santa  Fe  could  not  sup- 
ply subjects  enough  for  the  Society's  many 
foundations  in  New  Mexico,  three  sisters  from 
Loretto,  Ky.,  accompanied  Bishoj:)  Lamy,  who, 
with  Father  D.  M.  Gasparri,  S.  J.,  two  other 
Jesuit  Fathers  and  two  Sisters  of  Charity,  left 
St.  Louis,  on  his  return  from  Europe,  June  10, 
1872.  "On  Friday,  14th,".  says  Rev.  Gasparri, 
S.  J.,  "  we  started  from  Leavenworth  in  cara- 
vans, that  is  to  say,  in  wagons  and  carriages, 
for  New  Mexico  ;  we  were  in  the  carriages,  and 
the  provisions  in  the  wagons.  On  the  21st,  we 
arrived  at  St.  Mary's,  at  that  time  a  reservation 


1876.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  603 

of  the  Pottawattomie  Indians,  where  the  chil- 
dren of  the  school  came  out  to  meet  us.  We 
left  St.  Mary's  on  the  24th.  On  the  29th,  feast 
of  St.  Peter,  we  camped  at  a  short  distance 
from  Junction  City,  and,  toward  noon,  four 
peaceable  Indians — perhaps  spies — came  to  see 
us  and  remained  a  while  with  us.  On  the  2d 
of  July,  Ave  came  up  with  a  great  many  trains 
and  joined  them,  and,  on  the  following  day,  we 
met  twelve  other  Indians,  and  as  many  more  on 
the  6th. 

"On  the  16th  we  camped  about  three  miles 
below  Fort  Dodge,  and,  on  the  17th,  in  the  even- 
ing, whilst  the  animals  were  being  unharnessed 
from  the  wagons,  toward  dusk,  we  were  attacked 
for  the  first  time,  by  about  fifty  Indians.  We 
heard  that  day  that  many  more  had  attacked 
other  trains  very  near  us. 

"We  wished  to  cross  the  river  on  the  22d,  at 
a  place  called  Cimarron  Crossing,  but  we  could 
not.  In  the  morning  the  cholera  broke  out,  and 
the  same  evening  a  young  man  of  our  train  who 
came  from  Ohio  died.  Whilst  he  was  dying 
we  were  attacked  a  second  time  by  the  Indians, 
now  numbering  probably  over  three  hundred. 
The  wagons  were  tied  together,  forming  an  oval 
figure,  with  the  animals  in  the  middle ;  tho 
Mexicans  stationed  themselves  between  the 
wagons  to  fire,  the  sisters  remaining  in  the  mid- 
dle under  a  tent.  We  remained  there  that 
night. 

"  On  the  23d  we  continued  our  journey,  and^ 


604  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1847- 

toward  evening,  Sister  Alphonsa  Thomj^son,  a 
native  of  Kentucky,  fell  sick ;  night  setting  in, 
we  camped,  and  she,  being  very  ill,  received  the 
Last  Sacrament.  The  other  sisters  waited  on 
her  all  night,  and  the  next  day  we  had  to  con- 
tinue our  journey;  she  was  put  into  a  wagon 
with  the  four  other  sisters,  and  when  we  had 
halted,  she  died,  at  ten  o'clock  July  24th,  being 
not  quite  twenty  years  old.  We  all  felt  most 
sensibly  the  death  of  that  sister,  so  much  the 
more,  as  no  remedies  could  be  procured,  in  those 
desert  plains,  to  relieve  her ;  on  the  other  hand, 
the  Indians  would  not  let  her  die  in  peace.  She 
was  buried  in  the  evening,  near  the  road,  in  a 
place  well  marked  and  known  by  the  Mexicans. 
A  coffin,  the  best  that  could  be  made  under  the 
circumstance  was  prepared  for  her,  and  all  ac- 
companied the  body  in  procession,  a  Jesuit 
father  performing  the  funeral  ceremony,  and  the 
Bishop  following ;  before  leaving  a  cross  was 
planted  over  the  grave.  The  2:)oor  sister  had  ex- 
pressed a  desire  not  to  have  her  body  left  there, 
but  to  have  it  taken  on  with  us  to  New  Mexico, 
fearing  perchance  that  the  wild  Indians,  finding 
it,  would  desecrate  it.  But  this  could  not  be 
done,  above  all,  because  the  cholera  had  broken 
out  among  us,  but  also  because  it  is  said  that 
the  Indians  always  respect  dead  bodies ;  God, 
moreover,  would  protect,  in  a  special  manner, 
that  body,  in  which  had  dwelt  a  soul  as  pure  and 
innocent  as  Sister  Alphonsa's. 

"  One  the  26th  we  se^^arated  from  the  other 


1876.]  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  605 

wagons,  entering  Colorado  Territory,  and 
traveled  alone,  crossing  the  river  July  31st; 
on  the  3d  of  August  we  reached  Trinidad,  and 
on  the  15th  Santa  Fe,  the  terminus  of  our  jour- 

Tiey." 

Referring  to  the  sad  death  of  Sister 
Alphonsa,  Bishop  Lamy  wrote  :  "  The  youngest 
sister  of  Loretto  died,  on  the  24th  of  July,  from 
frio-ht,  as  I  considered  it,  caused  bv  the  attack 
of  the  savages.  She  was  eighteen  years  of 
aire,  well  educated,  and  a  model  of  virtue." 
Miss  Eleanor  Donnelly  has  immortalized  the 
event  in  a  sweet  little  poem,  which  we  copy 
from  the  Ave  Maria.* 

They  made  her  a  grave  where  the  tall  grasses  wave, 

'Neath  the  blue  of  the  Western  sky, 
And   they  laid  her  to   sleep  where   the   wild   winds 
sweep, 

Through  the  bendiug  reeds  that  sigh. 
With  a  swelHng  heart  they  were  forced  to  part 

A  link  from  that  sacred  chain. 
And  though  lovely  and  bright,  it  was  laid  that  nighty 

'Neath  the  sods  on  the  Western  plain. 

With  many  a  yjrayer,  they  laid  her  there, 

To  sleep  in  that  cold,  cold  bed, 
While  on  her  bier,  fell  as  holy  a  tear, 

As  e'er  embalmed  the  dead. 

*"Ave  Maria,"  Vol.  IX,  pg.  455.  There  are  a  few  inaccu- 
racies in  these  lines,  which  may  readily  be  condoned  on  the 
plea  of  poetical  license;  for  instance,  "reeds"  and  "eagle's 
eyry,"  which  are  not  to  be  found  on  the  level  prairies  of  the 
West. 


^06  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1847- 

Now,  the  stag  may  bound  o'er  that  sacred  ground, 

And  the  eagle  from  his  eyry  scream, 
But  no  Vesper  bell  comes  to  break  the  spell 

That  wraps  the  sleeper's  dream. 

Ah  !  far,  far  away,  perchance,  that  day, 

A  mother's  heart  was  sore. 
With  an  aching  void  for  the  Lamb's  sweet  bride, 

Laid  to  sleep  on  Arkansas'  shore. 
O  mother  dear !  soothe  to  rest  each  tear, 

Thou  to  glory  a  star  hast  given ; 
And  the  spirit  chain,  though  rent  in  twain, 

Shall  be  clasped  again  in  heaven. 

In  the  morn  of  youth,  her  young  heart's  truth 

Sought  not  the  earth  or  its  dust ; 
But  her  spirit's  wings  left  earthly  things 

To  fold  in  the  bost^m  of  trust. 
O  bride  of  the  Lamb,  thou  hast  gone  home ! 

In  the  Virgin's  train  art  thou; 
And  the  songs  that  rise  o'er  the  dome  of  the  skies 

But  echo  thy  virgin  vow. 

Let  fancy  bright,  on  wings  of  light, 

Now  seek  that  lonely  grave. 
Where  flowers  bloom  and  wild  birds  sing, 

By  the  dark  Arkansas'  wave ; 
Let  devotion  kneel,  for  there  'twill  feel 

A  throb  unfelt  before, 
For  incense  rare  doth  fill  the  air. 

Though  the  worshiper's  no  more. 

There,  mortal,  kneel  one  hour  to  feel 

That  soothing  calm  within, 
When  devotion  bows  o'er  holy  vows 

And  prayer  has  shackled  sin. 


1876.  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  607 

Oh  !  for  tlie  bliss  of  an  hour  like  this, 

When  the  soul's  deep  powers  thrill 
"With  the  magic  tone  from  mercy's  throne, 

And  passion's  waves  are  still. 

Xonely  grave  by  the  Western  wave; 

Oh  !  pure  heart"  sleeping  there, 
The  winds  alone  above  thee  moan 

Their  sad,  wild  requiem  prayer. 
E'en  the  savage  here  feels  a  m3^stic  fear 

As  he  stands  by  that  lonely  mound. 
As  the  whispering  breeze  sighs  through  the  trees, 

"  Thou  standest  on  holy  ground." 

Then  sweetly  rest,  with  the  cross  on  thy  breast; 

Oh  !  sweet  be  thy  slumbers  here  ! 
May  o'er  thy  head  bright  wings  be  spread 

By  angels  watching  there  ! 
May  no  ruder  wind  sweep  o'er  thy  sleep 

Than  the  breath  of  Summer  roses. 
While  virtue's  tear  embalms  the  bier 

Where  our  martyred  dead  reposes. 


Sister  Bridget  Spalding  filled  the  office  of 
Dear  Mother  from  1852  to  1858,  when  Mother 
Berlindis  Downs  was  again  elected,  and  re- 
mained Superior  of  the  Loretto  Society  till 
1864.  When  she  resigned  her  authority  into 
the  hands  of  her  successor,  she  had  the  happi. 
ness  of  counting  one  hundred  and  seventy-five 
sisters  who  had  joined  the  Society  of  the 
Friends  of  Mary  since  she  first  assumed  the  of- 
fice in  1846. 


608  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.         [1847- 

Dear  Mother  Berlindis  was  intrusted  for  the 
third  time  with  the  interests  of  the  Society, 
August  15,  1858,  after  a  dire  calamity,  whicli 
put  to  the  severest  test  all  the  energy  of  which 
she  had  given  such  unmistakable  proofs  in  for- 
mer years.  "On  the  20th  day  of  February, 
1858,"  says  an  eye-witness  of  the  distressing- 
scene,  "  the  convent  and  church  built  by  Father 
Chabrat  were  burned  down.  The  fire  origiucited 
in  the  kitchen,  about  two  o'clock  a.  m.,  and  the 
house  was  in  full  blaze  before  the  inmates  were 
aware  of  the  great  danger  they  were  exposed 
to.  The  novices  had  a  narrow  escape,  for,  a 
few  minutes  after  they  had  been  aroused  from 
their  slumbers,  the  floor  of  the  novitiate  fell  in. 
It  was  impossible  to  arrest  the  fire ;  the  few 
men  who  were  on  the  place  made  an  effort  to  ex- 
tinguish it,  but  they  soon  found  that  all  their 
endeavors  to  stay  the  progress  of  the  flames 
were  futile.  The  Blessed  Sacrament  was  re- 
moved from  the  chapel  by  Rev.  Father  Wuyts, 
confessor  of  the  convent,  to  his  own  room  in  an 
old  building  on  the  other  side  of  the  yard,  and 
formerly  occupied  by  Fathers  Badin  and  Xer- 
inckx.  When  he  came  back,  the  fire  was  al- 
ready sweeping  through  the  church,  and  he  had 
hardly  time  to  guide  the  sisters,  who  were  try- 
ing to  save  pictures  and  statues,  out  of  it,  before^ 
it  was  wrapped  in  flames.  Some  were  almost 
suffocated  by  the  smoke.  The  library,  which 
was  a  very  interesting  and  costly  one,  and  a 
bell,  the  like  of  which  was  not  to  be  found  in» 


1876.]  LIFE  OF  EEV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.  609 

America,  and  which  had  been  brought  over 
by  Father  Nerinckx  from  Belgium,  were  en- 
tirely destroyed.  Few  articles  were  saved,  and 
the  sisters  suffered  much  for  a  few  days,  for,  on 
the  very  evening  of  the  fire,  a  heavy  snow  fell 
and  the  weather  turned  very  cold.  However, 
every  one  seemed  to  forget  herself  to  provide 
for  her  sisters.  It  was  thought,  at  first,  that 
the  loss  would  be  irreparable,  and  the  good  sis- 
ters were  much  perplexed  and  at  a  loss  what  to- 
do  ;  but  Providence  came  to  their  aid,  and  what 
was  looked  upon  at  first  as  a  great  calamity, 
proved  a  blessing  in  disguise.  A  new  church, 
three  times  as  large  as  the  former  one,  and  a 
new  convent,  much  larger  and  better  suited  to 
the  wants  of  the  community,  arose  from  the 
ashes  of  the  old  structure ;  old  St.  Stephen's- 
log-cabin  alone  remains  to  remind  the  Sisters  of 
Loretto  of  the  self-sacrifices  of  their  founder. 
The  speedy  erection  of  the  new  buildings  was 
mainly  due  to  Mother  Berlindis,  who  superin- 
tended the  worlv  in  all  its  details." 

Sister  Bertha  Bowles  was  elected  Dear 
Mother  in  August,  1864.  The  same  year,  a  new 
establishment  was  opened  in  Cairo  under  the 
patronage  of  St.  Joseph,  and  Mother  Elizabeth 
Hayden  gave  it  the  stability  and  usefulness 
which  distinguish  all  the  institutions  of  Loretto. 

Father  Deparcq  who  had  labored  for  twenty 
years  for  the  temporal  and  spiritual  welfare  of 
the  Friends  of  Mary,  died  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
nine  years,  toward   the  end  of  the  same  year^ 


^10  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX        [1847- 

1864.  The  sisters  entombed  his  remains  near 
those  of  their  beloved  founder,  Father  Nerinckx, 
and  the  following  epitaph  marks  his  resting- 
place  : 

t 

In  memory  of  Very  Rev. 
DAVID  ALEXANDER  DEPARCQ, 

WHO  WAS  BORN  IN  BELGIUM,  SePT. 

25,  1795.     Came  to  America  in  1818. 
"Was  ordained  priest  at  Bardstown, 

Ky.,  in  1819,  AND  LABORED  IN  THE 

missions  of  Kentucky  most 

zealously  during  44  years. 

Having  spent  his  life  in  the  noble 

discharge  of  his  many  duties, 

the  saintly  missionary  retired 

TO  Holy  Mary's  Church,  Calvary 

Convent,  to  spend  the  evening 
OF  his  days  ;  there,  after  a  linger- 
ing illness,  borne  with  patient 
resignation,  surrounded  by  his 
spiritual  children,  and  fortified 

BY  ALL  the  aids  OF  HoLY  ChURCH, 
HE  CALMLY  PASSED  TO  THE  PRESENCE 

OF  HIS  Creator,  on  Nov.  9,  1864. 
This  memorial  is  placed  as  an 

HUMBLE  tribute,  BY  HIS  GRATEFUL 

Daughters  of  Loretto,  whose 

Ecclesiastical  Superior  he  was 

FOR  20  years. 

After  Father  Deparcq's  death,  the  Bishop  of 
Louisville  acted  as  immediate  superior  until 
1869,  when  Rev.  Francis  Wuyts  was  appointed 


1876.]  LIFE  OF  EEV.  CHAELES  NERINCKX.  611 

eclesiastical  superior  over  all  the  houses  of  the 
Society,  now  established  in  many  States  and 
Territories.  Under  his  prudent  and  energetic 
administration  the  Friends  of  Mary  increase 
every  year  in  usefulness,  whilst  they  are  all 
thoroughly  imbued  with  the  apostolic  spirit 
which  was  left  them  by  their  saintly  founder. 

In  1864  was  established  the  convent  and  acad- 
emy of  Denver,  Colorado  ;  founded  by  the  House 
of  Santa  Fe,  New  Mexico,  it  is  now  supplied  by 
Loretto,  Ky.,  as  is  also  the  one  of  Pueblo,  in  the 
same  State,  founded  in  1875. 

St.  Augustine's  Academy,  Lebanon,  Marion 
county,  Ky.,  dates  from  the  same  year,  1864. 
The  year  following  the  sisters  took  charge  of  St. 
Joseph's  school,  Edina,  Knox  county,  Missouri, 
where  Mr.  Peter  Early  provided  them  with  a 
house  and  lot. 

Dear  Mother  Elizabeth  Hayden  was  elected  in 
1870,  and  directed  the  Society  until  1876,  when 
Sister  Dafrosa  Smith  was  elected  to  succeed  her. 
Under  her  superiorship  were  established:  St. 
Mary's  Academy,  EUzabetlitown,  Hardin  county, 
Ky.,  in  September,  1870 ;  St.  Mary's  of  Loretto 
Academy,  Montgomery,  Alabama,  in  1873;  and 
Loretto  Academy,  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  in  1874; 
besides  the  two  alluded  to  above.  Within  the 
last  two  years,  three  new  houses  have  been  es- 
tablished, viz:  St.  Mary's  Academy,  Moberlij, 
Missouri,  in  September,  1877 ;  Our  Lady  of  the 
Sacred  Heart,  Conejos,  Colorado,  1877  ;  and  Lo- 
retto Academy,  Springfield,  Missouri,  1878. 


612  LIFE  OF  REV.  CHARLES  NERINCKX.    [1847-76. 

One  hundred  and  sixty-five  sisters  have  died^ 
since  their  holy  founder  went  to  his  eternal  rest ;. 
and  at  the  present  day  about  three  hundred  and 
fifty  live  in  the  difi'erent  houses  faithful  to  the^ 
Holy  Rule  which  Father  Nerinckx  gave  them, 
trying  to  imitate  his  many  virtues  on  earth,  so- 
to  share  some  day  his  eternal  glory  in  heaven. 


APPENDIX. 


I. 

Btnms  composed  by  Father  Nerinckx,  and  offered  by  him  to 
Right  Rev.  Benedict  Joseph  Flaget,  on  the  occasion  op  the 
CONSECRATION  OF  Bardstown  Cathedral,  August  15,  1819. 

Celsissimo  et  Reverendissimo  Domino  Dno.  Flaget. 

An   essay  on  the  Assumption  of  the  glorious  Virgin 
M&ry,  particular  patroness  of  St.  Thomas  Seminary. 
August  15,  1819. 


HYMN. 

Come  ev'ry  pure  and  loving  soul, 
Harmonious  concerts  raise, 

Sound  Mary's  praise  from  pole  to  pole, 
Oh !  strike  your  sweetest  lays ! 

Let's  sing  on  this,  our  festive  day. 
The  triumph  of  our  Queen, 

Who  mounts  aloft  and  wings  her  way 
To  Heaven's  realms  serene. 

The  Son  Divine,  whom  once  she  bore 

And  nourished  at  her  breast, 

Disdains  to  let  her  body  pure 

With  sinful  mortals  rest. 

(613) 


614  APPENDIX. 

It  was  not  meet  tliat  sacred  fane 

Of  very  grace  divine, 
!Never  defiled  with  sinful  stain, 

Should  rest  in  human  shrine. 

From  earthly  chains  at  length  set  free. 
She  leaves  this  world  below — 

She  flies,  O  God,  she  flies  to  Thee ! 
Whence  purest  pleasures  flow. 

Ten  thousand  thousand  angels  bright, 
In  sweet  melodious  song. 

Attend  their  Queen's  triumphant  flight,. 
And  'round  her  joyous  throng. 

She  sweeps  the  fields  of  ether  pure, 
Borne  on  the  wings  of  love; 

Seraphic  spirits  fly  before. 
And  lead  the  train  above. 

They  soar  beyond  the  azure  sky 
To  heaven's  golden  sphere; 

The  blazing  portals  open  fly, 
And  welcome  in  the  fair. 

"And  who  is  this,  like  troops  array, 
This  dread  and  glorious  one  ? 
Fair  as  the  moon,  or  o.pening  day, 
And  chosen  as  the  sun  ?  " 

Thus  from  within. — The  Heavens  nod. 
And  all  the  courts  exclaim  : 

"^Ae's  mother  to  our  Savior  Gody 
And  Mary  is  her  name !  " 


APPENDIX.  615 

The  King  of  ages,  awful  bows, 

The  Son  leaps  from  his  throne — 

This  greets  his  Mother,  that  his  Spouse; 
Their  Queen  the  heavens  own. 

Refulgent  rays  of  heavenly  light 

Gleam  o'er  the  Virgin's  face; 
She  takes  her  seat  at  Jesus'  right — 

The  source  of  all  her  grace. 

O  Mary,  now  enthroned  above, 

Star  of  this  boist'rous  sea, 
Receive  the  expressions  of  our  love, 

And  guard  us  safe  to  thee. 

To  God  the  Father,  and  the  Son 

Born  of  the  Spotless  Maid, 
And  Holy  Spirit,  three  in  one, 

Be  endless  honor  paid. 


SOME  PIOUS  SENTIMENTS  ON  THE  FLOWERS 
WHICH  ADORN  THE  ALTAR. 

Soft,  beauteous  plants  of  nature  fair, 
Which  fost'ring  hands  with  caution  rear, 
Or  in  the  woods  spontaneous  grow, 
Where  purling  streams  in  murmurs  flow; 
The  fairest  oft''ring  nature  yields 
To  deck  the  fane  or  grace  the  fields ! 
Few,  holiest  ones  of  teeming  earth. 
Few  rightly  know  to  rate  your  worth. 
Who  can  behold  with  pensive  eye 
The  varied  tints  with  which  you  vie 
Even  with  the  starry-vaulted  sky, 


616  APPENDIX. 

And  not  adore  the  potent  band 

Which  formed  the  hills  and  trembling  land, 

And  from  an  undigested  pile 

Called  forth  the  world,  and  bid  it  smile! 

All  nature  chants  her  author's  praise, 

In  mute,  indeed,  yet  noblest  ways ; 

But  you,  fair  flowers,  above  the  rest 

Acquit  yourselves  of  this  the  best. 

I  plucked  you  when  the  morning  dew 

Increased  your  native  blushing  hue; 

I  placed  you  by  my  Savior's  side, 

Where  now  you  spread  a  fragrance  wide, 

While  wafted  on  the  breezy  tide 

JBefore  the  Lord  you  spend  your  bloom 

And  sweetly  fill  the  sacred  room. 

Who  will  me  grant,  sweet  plants,  like  you, 

To  Jesus  dear  forever  true. 

Before  the  Lord  to  spend  my  life, 

Far  from  the  noisy  crowd  of  strife? 

Oh  !  had  I  from  my  early  years, 

When  infant  age  the  soul  endears, 

Clad  in  the  robes  of  innocence, 

E'er  paid  my  Lord  the  sw^eet  incense 

Of  fervent,  holy,  loving  prayer, 

Tree  from  the  world's  tumultuous  care! 

Ah,  when  shall  I  diffuse  around. 

As  meads  with  flow'ry  verdure  crowned. 

The  odor  sweet  of  virtue's  works? 

But  ah  !  my  torpid  soul  still  lurks  ! 

The  gentle  brooks,  the  verdant  plains, 

E'er  laud  their  God  in  silent  strains; 

And  shall  not  I  pay  to  his  name 

My  homage,  too,  so  just  a  claim? 

Yes,  Savior  God  ;  yes,  Jesus  dear, 

Hence,  Thee  to  serve  shall  be  my  care; 


APPENDIX.  617 

For  Thee  I  '11  spend  life's  fleeting  day, 
Till  laid  beneath  the  cold,  damp  clay; 
Nor  shall  the  grave's  consuming  sod 
Debar  my  soul  from  Christ,  her  God! 
For  Him  I  '11  live  ;  for  Him  I  '11  die ; 
To  Him  I  '11  rise  beyond  the  sky. 
No  more,- ye  flowers,  I  wish  your  lot, 
For  soon  your  pleasing  bloom  must  rot; 
But  my  immortal  soul  shall  live 
In  endless  bliss,  if  I  now  give 
To  God  my  life,  and  in  the  embrace 
Of  holy  love  preserve  His  grace. 
O  heavenly  love  !  O  sweetest  thougbt, 
Which  soothes  a  life  with  evils  fraught! 
Arise,  O  child  of  faith !  illume 
The  dark  precincts  of  mortal  tomb ; 
Hold  forth,  display  your  cheering  light, 
Dispel  the  gloomy  shades  of  night ! 
62 


618 


APPENDIX. 


II. 


ECCLESIASTICAL  SUPERIORS  OF  LORETTO. 

1.  Rev.  Chakles  Nerinckx,  Founder  and  Superior,      ,  1812-24' 

2.  Rev.  Chabrat,  Superior,       .....  1824-34 

3.  Rev.  Walter  Coomes, 1834-35 

4.  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Chabrat,       ....  1835-46 

5.  Rev.  David  A.  Deparcq, 1846-64 

6.  The  Right  Rev.  Bishop  of  Louisville,     .        .  1864-69- 

7.  Rev.  J.  F.  Wutts, 1869- 


III. 


MOTHER  SUPERIORS  OF  LORETTO. 

1.  Ann  Rhodes,  by  Election,  . 

2.  Mary  Rhodes,  "  ... 

3.  Juliana  Wathen,  "  ... 

4.  Isabella  Clarke,  "  ... 

5.  Sabina  O'Brien,  "  ... 

6.  Josephine  Kelly,  "  ... 

7.  Isabella  Clarke,  "  ... 

8.  Generose  Mattingly,  by  Episcopal  Appointment, 

9.  Berlindis  Downs,  "  " 


by  Election, 


10.  Bridget  Spalding, 

11.  Berlindis  Downs, 

12.  Bertha  Bowles, 

13.  Elizabeth  IIayden, 

14.  Dafrosa  Smith, 


1812 

1812-22 

1822-24 

1824-26 

1826-32 

1832-38 

1838-42 

1842-43 

1843-46 

1846-52 

1852-58 

1858-64 

1864-70 

1870-76 

1876 


APPENDIX. 


619 


IV. 


STATISTICS  OF  THE  LORETTO  SOCIETY,  IN  1879. 


NAME. 

PLACE. 

N( 

SiST 
IN  1 

•6 

M 

0) 

o 

bl 

0-, 

). 

ERS 

S79. 

<v 
o 

'S 

o 

•a 

Iioretto  Mother  House 

1812 
1816 
1832 
1839 
1842 
1847 
1847 
1852 
18-59 
1863 
1864 
1864 
1864 
1864 
1865 
1868 
1870 
1870 
1873 
1874 
1875 
1875 
1876 
1877 
1877 
1878 

Marion  Co.,  Ky. 

Marion  Co.,  Ky. 

Hardin  Co.,  Ky. 

Cape  Girardeau,  Mo. 

Portland,  Ky. 

Florissant,  Mo. 

Osage  Mission,  Kan. 

Santa  Fe,  New  Mexico. 

Taos,  New  Mexico. 

Cairo,  Ills. 

Denver,  Col. 

Lebanon,  Ky. 

Mora,  New  Mexico. 

Las  Vegas,  New  Mexico. 

Edina,  Mo. 

New  Haven,  Ky. 

Elizabethtown,  Ky. 

Las  Crusas,  N.  M. 

Montgomery,  Ala. 

St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Earlington,  Ky. 

Bernalillo,  New  Mexico. 

Pueblo,  Col. 

Conejos,  Col. 

Moberly,  Mo. 

Springfield,  Mo. 

65 

30 

30 

18 

20 

30 

20 

20 

14 

18 

6 

7 

6 

6 

5 

6 

6 

8 

12 

18 

5 

3 

5 

5 

7 

5 

40 

St  Ann's  Academy  

Convent  of  Our  Lady  of  Light. 

8 

St.  Mary's  Academy 

St  Augustine's  Academy 

Immaculate  Conception  Acad'y. 

St.  Joseph's  Academy 

St   Catharine's  Academy 

St  Mary's  Academy 

Visitation  Academy 

4 

St.  Mary's  of  Loretto  Academy. 

St.  Joseph's  Academy 

Loretto  Academy 

Our  Lady  of  the  Sacred  Heart. 
St  Mary's  Academy 

Xioretto  Academy 

Besides  the  above  institutions,  the  Sisters  of  Loretto  have  charge 
of  three  parochial  schools  in  Louisville,  three  in  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  one 
at  Florissant,  Mo.,  one  at  Cape  Girardeau,  Mo.,  and  one  at  Springfield, 
Mo.,  attended  to  by  thirty  sisters  in  all.  And  besides  the  academies 
at  New  Haven  and  Lebanon,  they  have  a  negro  school  in  each  place. 


ALPHABETICAL  INDEX. 


Abel,  Robert,  emigrates  toKy.,  69;  at  the  Rolling  Fork,   117; 

in  Breckenridge  Co.,  498. 
Abel,  Rev.   Robert,  370;    travels  of,  381;    at  Mt.  Mary's,  390;, 

sick,  442. 
Academies,  in  U.  S.  in  1820,  400. 
Accusations  against  Rev.  Nerinckx,  178  sqq. 
Acquaroni,  Rev.,  C.  M.,  367. 
Adams,  Mr.,  Secretary  of  State,  427. 
Adams  Fork,  Ky.,  217;  or  Creek,  220. 
Aernoudt,  Rev.,  S.  J.,  451. 
Agnes,  Sister,  buried  in  Pine  BluflFs,  273. 
Agriculture  in  Belgium,  297. 
Albuquerque,  New  Mexico,  601. 
Allen,  Gen.  Ethan,  420. 
Amsterdam,  Rev.  Nerinckx  in,  40, 332  ;  Catholic  churches  in,  44;: 

vessels  from,  324 ;  emigrants  in,  335,  356. 
Andreis,  Very  Rev.  de,  C.  M.,   351;  at  St.  Thomas  Seminary, 

Ky.,  354;  founder  of  Lazaiists  in  U.  S.,  367. 
Ann's,"  St.,  Church,   Ky.,  71;  dedicated,   72;    congregation,   73; 

graveyard,  124;  number  of  families,  125;  trouble  at,  177. 
Anthony's,  St.,  Church,   Ky.,  126;    difficulties  at,  215;  church 

built,  252  ;  visited,  383. 
Antwerp,  Belgium,  custom-house,  332. 
Appeal  of  Rev.  Nerinckx  to  Belgium,  309. 
Apple  Creek,  Mo.,  572. 
Argier,  Rev.  0.  P.,  371. 
Atkinson,  Fort,  Kan.sas,  597. 
Austerity  of  Rev.  Nerinckx,  170. 

B. 

Badin,  Rev.  S.  T. ;  in  Ky.,  50,  62;  sent  to  Ky.,  71  ;  at  St.  Ann's, 
72;  at  St.  Stephen's,  73;  alone,  75;  character  of,  97;  pen 
picture  of,  98,  123  ;  missions  of,  127  ;  his  efforts  in  behalf  of 
education,  136;  at  Holy  Cross,  151  ;  goes  to  Baltimore,  Md,, 
152;  at  Vincennes,  Ind.,  158;  his  severity,  169;  at  St.  Ste- 
phen's, 237 ;  at  Gallipolis,  O.,  341;  gifts  to,  355;  visited  fey 
Rev.  Nerinckx,  357;  oldest  priest  of  Ky.,  370;  in  France,. 
442;  visits  St.  Joseph's,  Mich.,  471. 

(621) 


f,22  ALPHABETICAL  INDEX. 

Baltimore,   Md.,   commercial  relations  of,   324;    inundation  of, 

363;  paintings  for  cathedral  of,  381;  cathedral  of,  429. 
Banks,  in  Ky.,  in  1817,  402. 
Barbara's,  St.,  Church,  Ky.,  157,  375. 
Barber,  Mr.  Daniel,  converted,  426. 

Barber,  Rev.  Virgil,  S.  J.,  a  Jesuit,  341  ;  conversion  of,  362;  pro- 
fessor at  Georgetown,  Md.,  425  ;  dies,  427. 
Barber,   Mrs.  Virgil,  at  Visitation  Convent,  Georgetown,   Md., 

361 ;  her  vows,  425 ;  dies,  427. 
Barber,  Mr.,  of  Danville,  Kv.,  123. 

Bardstown,  mission,  73 ;  in  1786,  117,  123;  gifts  to  Cathedral,  354; 
brick  church,  380 ;  consecration  of  Cathedral,  393 ;  steeple 
and  clock,  396;  bishopric  divided,  397;  extent  of  diocese, 
405  ;  Jesuit  College,  476. 
Barnesville,  Md.,  344. 

Barrieres,  Rev.,  in  Ky.,  71  ;  at  Gallipolis,  341. 
Bao-rens,  St.  Mary's  of  the,  Mo.,  201 ;  burial  of  Sister  Agnes,  273; 
project  of  a  convent,  3S0;  the  Loretto  Sisters  go  to,  499 ; 
settle  there,  501,  sqq.  ;  moved  to  Cape  Girardeau,  509,  573;  ar- 
rival of  Rev.  Nerinckx,   525;  legacy  of  Rev.  Nerinckx  to, 
528 :  burial  of  Rev.  Nerinckx,  535. 
Bart,  Rev.,  at  Conewago,  Penn.,  60,  61. 
Bartley,  Fort,  598. 
Basil,  Rev.,  trappist,  100. 
Bax,  Rev.,  S.  J.,  473,  576,  581 ;  sqq. 
Beaven,  Mr.  Nicholas,  271. 
Bedford,  62. 
Beech  Forks,  Ky.,  74. 
Beguines,  139. 
Bellair,  Md.,488. 
Bells,  120;  first  bell  in  Ky.,  158;  of  Ninove  to  Bardstown,  355; 

of  Loretto,  358 ;  for  Baltimore  Cathedral,  430. 
Benedict,  St.,  Church,  Ky.,  126. 
Bernard,  St..  Church,  Ky.,  108;  families,  127;  chui-ch,  158;  land 

bought  at,  219;  church  began,  252. 
Berry,  Due  de.  428. 
Bertrand,  Rev.,  at  Detroit,  Mich.,  368. 
Beschter,  Rev.,  S.  J.,  at  Lancaster,  Penn.,  14ds  at  Frederickstown, 

Md.,  363. 
Bethania  Convent,  Ky.,  491. 
Bethlehem  Convent,  Ilardin  Co.,  Ky.,  498. 
Bethlehem  Convent,  Mo.     See  Barrens. 
Bird,  Mr.,  of  Mo.,  501. 
Blanc,  Rev.,  at  Vincennes,  Ind.,  368. 
Blanford,  Aquila,  270. 
Blosins,  Rev.,  Md.,  59. 
Bois  Brule,  Mo.,  380. 
Boisnantier,  Rev.,  Bp.  Gallipolis,  O.,  34L 
Boone,  Daniel,  in  Ky  ,  66. 
Boone  family  at  St.  Ann's,  Ky.,  17,  271. 
Bora,  Catharine,  362. 

Boston,  Mass.;  75  ;  new  church,  156  ;  commercial  relations,  324. 
Boullier,  Rev.,  273. 


ALPHABETICAL  INDEX.  623 

Breckinridge,  Ky.,  Sisters  of  Charity  at,  395. 

Britt,  Rev.,  S.  J.,  on  the  Potomac,  146. 

Brotherhood,  project  of  a,  by  Rev.  Nerinckx,  385;  ready,  388; 

fails,  389,  490;  its  aim,  570. 
Brothers  of  Christ.  Doct.,  367. 
Brown  family,  Ky.,  69. 
Burke,  Mrs.,  cured  of  blindness,  540. 
Byrne,  Rev.  W.,  appointed  to  St.  Charles,  Ky.,  388;  founds  St. 

Mary's  College,  388;  dies,  390;  at  St.  Mary's  College,  490. 

C. 

Cahokias,  199. 

Cairo,  111.,  609.  « 

Calvary  Convent,  Ky.,  gifts  to,  358;  founded,  374;  attended  by 
Rev.  Deparcq,  3S7 ;  death  of  a  Belgian  youth  at,  389 ;  pov- 
erty relieved  by  Providence,  562. 

Cambron,  Henry,  goes  to  Ky.,  71. 

Cape  of  Good  Hope,  313,  329. 

Carico  family  at  St.  Ann's,  73 ;  at  the  Barrens,  Mo.,  201. 

Carroll,  Right  Rev.  John,  Archbishop  of  Baltimore,  Md.,  42;  his 
zeal,  51  ;  appoints  priests  for  Ky.,  70  ;  letter  of,  82;  a  Jesuit, 
147;  thrown  from  his  carriage,  156;  appointed  archbishop, 
187;  letters  of,  192,  196;  visiled,  284;  death  of,  398. 

Cash  family,  Ky.,  69. 

Cartwright's  Creek,  Ky.,  71.     f^ee  St.  Ann's. 

Casey  Co.,  Ky.,  trappists  at,  101  ;  church  of,  267. 

Cedar  Grove,  Portland,  Ky.,  574. 

Cemeteries,  Rev.  Nerinckx's  care  of,  165,  555. 

Cenis,  Mount,  294. 

Cersonmont,  Rev.  Stanislaus,  letter  of,  30;  atConewago,  Penn.,41. 

Chabrat,  Rev.  Guy,  266;  gifts  to,  356;  first  priest  ordained  in 
Ky.,  370;  in  Europe,  387;  at  Vincennes,  419 ;  at  Bethania 
Convent,  491  ;  opposes  Rev.  Nerinckx,  512,  sqq. ;  Superior 
of  Loretto,  541 :  Coadjutor  Bishop,  571. 

Chalices,  121. 

Charbonniere,  Mo.,  467. 

Charles,  St.,  Church,  Ky.,  118;  altar,  121;  families,  125;  cate- 
chism at,  133;  painting  at,  157;  church,  158;  first  commun- 
ion at,  163;  Rev.  Nerinckx  moves  to,  253;  congregation 
asked  to  help  Loretto,  260;  Loretto  established  near,  268; 
Bp.  Flaget  preaches  at,  289 ;  attended  by  Rev.  W.  Byrne, 
388. 

Charles,  St.,  Mo.,  202;  Jesuits  at,  469;  Ladies  of  Sacred  Heart 
at,  591. 

Charles,  St.,  College,  La.,  474. 

Charlesborough,  62. 

Charleston,  397. 

Chazelle,  Rev.  S.  J.,  390. 

Cherokee  Indians,  in  Ky.,  66  ;  in  the  West,  467. 

Cheverus,  Rev.  Louis  de,  Bp.  of  Boston,  156 ;  preaches,  399. 

Chicago,  Ills,,  Jesuits  at,  477  sq. 

Chillicothe,  0.,  155. 


624  ALPHABETICAL  INDEX. 

Chouteau,  Mrs.,  577  sq. 

Chiistian  Co.,  Ky.,  221. 

Chvistophorus,  St.,  Church,  Ky.,  126. 

Cimarron,  New  Mex  ,  .'iQS. 

Cincinnati,  O.,   Bishopric  of,   397;    priests  in   Diocese   of,  398, 

Jesuit  College  at,  475. 
Cincinnati,  Steamer,  the,  500  sq. 
Clare,  St.,  Church,  Ky.,  126;  foundation  laid,  158;  finished,  159,. 

218.  ' 
Clares,  Poor,  at  Georgetown,  Md.,  53. 
Claik  family,  at  St.  Ann's,  73. 
Clark,  General,  in  Ky.,  6G. 
Clarke,  Miss  Ann.  2S8;  Sister  Isabella,  515. 
Clarkson  family,  in  Ky.,  73. 
Clements  family,  Ky.,  2i2. 
Glenients,  Mr.  Lemuel,  Md.,  343. 
Clergy  of  Ky.,  in  1820,  4u3. 
Clifty,  Ky.,  218,  220,  267. 
Colleton,  Rev.,  S.  J.,  473. 

Connor,  Mr.  Jeremiah,  of  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  469. 
Conewago,  Penn.,  30;  priests  at,  60;  Trappists  at,  519. 
Cool  Water  Grove.  579. 

Cnncanen,  Right  Rev.,  Bp.  of  New  York,  190. 
Coghlan,  Rev.  M.,  390. 
Coomes,  Mr.  Wm.,  in  Ky.,  67,  69. 
Coomes,  Rev.  Chas..  371. 
Coomes,  Rev.  W.,  572. 
Coppingen.  Mr.,  at  Bardstown,  117. 
Corejos,  Col.,  611. 
Council  BluflFs,  470. 
Council  Grove,  597. 
Cournge  of  Rev.  Nerinckx,  223. 
Cousin,  Rev.,  S.  J.,  343. 

Cross,  carrying  the  Cross  in  Bullitt  Co.,  Ky.,  232. 
Cross,  Holy,  Church,  Ky.,  built,  70 ;   jubilee  at,  90;    altar,  121; 
families,   125;    procession    in    1807,    150;    altar,    349;    new- 
church  built,  494,  496. 

D. 

Duhmen,  Rev.,  C.  M.,  529,  533. 

Dnmen,  Rev.  Arnold,  S.  J.,  in  Chicago,  477. 

Danville,  Kv.,  church  built,  122;  in  1786,  122,  123;  church 
tower,  124;  families,  126;   brick  church,  380. 

David,  Rev.,  at  St  Stephen's,  Ky.,  237  ;  Coadjutor-Bishop  of 
Bardstown,  370;  his  lodgings,  393;  founder  of  Sisters  of 
Charity,  Nazareth,  Ky.,  395;  his  consecration,  396;  at  Naz- 
areth, 489. 

Deaf  and  dumb,  Institute  for,  574. 

De  Broglie,  Right  Kev.,  Bp.  of  Ghent,  17. 

Decatur,  Admiral,  428. 

Decoen,  Rev.  F.  X.,  S.  J.,  goes  to  America,  6;  builds  St.  Galls, 
Milwaukee,  7,  477 ;  dies  in  Kansas,  7, 

De  Cuyper,  Rev.,  79,  80;  dies,  83,  94, 


ALPHABETICAL  INDEX.  625 

De  Gallon,  Mr.,  Louisville,  Ky.,  120. 

De  la  Croix,  Rev.  Chas.,  380;  at  Florissant,  Mo.,  446,  467;  biog- 
raphy of,  504;  with  the  Osage  Indians,  575. 
De  Lanne,  Rev.,  at  Mt.  Mary's,  Ky.,  390. 
De  Landtsheere,  Very  Rev.,  in  prison,  29,  37. 
De  Maillet,  Rev.,  S.  J.,  455,  sq. 

De  Meyer,  Brother  Peter,  S.  J.,  347;  in  Mo.,  466,  479. 
De  Neckere,  Right  Rev.,  502. 
De  Neff,  Mr.,  of  Turnhout,  451. 
De  NefF.  Miss  Mary,  452;  tertiary,  494. 
Dent,  Mr.  James,  1.3G;  his  brother,  139;  gives  land  to  Loretto,. 

Ky.,  240;  social  qualities  of,  242;  donates  a  farm,  375. 
Denver,  Col.,  G02,  611. 
Deparcq,  Rev.  A.,  117;  at  Hardin',s  Creek,  Ky.,  119;  at  Lebanon,. 

381 ;  ordained,  387;  director  of  Loretto,  575;  dies,  609,  sq. 
De  Rigault,  Rev.,  370;  dies,  510. 
Deseilles,  Rev.,  of  Mich.,  471. 

Desmet,  Rev.  P.,  S.  J.,  455,  sq. ;  in  Mo.  466;  his  biography,  471.. 
Desmet,  Brother  C,  S.  J.,  347. 
De  Theux,  Rev.,  S.  J.,  at  Georgetown,  426. 
Devos,  Rev.  P.,  enters  Society  of  Jesus,  343;  pastor  of  Rockville, 

Md.,  343;  dies,  344;  at  Montgomery  Court-house,  Md.  425. 
De  Wolf,  Mr.,  of  Antwerp,  82,  120. 
Detroit,  Mich.,  75;  priest  at,  368;  bishopric  of,  397;  priests  of 

diocese  of,  398  ;  St.  Ann's  Church,  399;  priests,  in  1820,  404;. 

Jesuits  in,  478. 
Dioceses  in  U.  S.,  in  1820,  399. 
Disney,  Rev.  T.  J.,  at  Mt.  Mary's  College,  391. 
Dominic,  Rev.,  trappist,  TOO. 
Dominicans,  56;  at  St.  Rose's,  Ky.,  72,  73;  convent  of,  137;  in 

St.  Ann's,  168;    leniency   of,  171;    misunderstanding   with 

Rev.  Nerinckx,  174;  gifts  to,  355;  in  Cincinnati  diocese,  398. 
Donche,  Rev.,  trappist,  101. 
Donelan,  Rev.  J.  B.,  345. 

Donnelly,  Miss  E.,  her  verses  on  the  death  of  a  sister,  605. 
Doran,  Sister  Alexandrina,  483,  sqq. 
Driscoll,  Rev.  E.,  at  Mt.  Mary's,  Ky.,  396. 
Dubois,  Rev.,  in  Md.,  423,  425. 
Dubourg,  Right    Rev,.  Bp.  of  La.,  351;    in  Ghent,  367;    in  St. 

Louis,  368 ;  leaves  Mo.,  469  ;  in  Louisville,  498. 
Duchesne,  Madame,  R.  of  S.  H.,  591. 
Dumortier,  Rev.,  S.  J  ,  474. 
Durand,  Rev.,  trappist,  102;  prior,  107;  in  ministry,  112;  returns 

to  France,  378. 
Durbin,  Rev.,  in  Ky.,  220;  visited  by  Rev.  Nerinckx,  525. 


Edelen  family,  in  Ky.,  73. 
Edina,  Mo.,  611. 
Elder,  Rev.  Jos.,  391. 
Elder,  Miss  Nancy,  199. 


E. 


^26  ALPHABETICAL  INDEX. 

Elet,  Rev.  J.  B.,  S.  J.,  448  sqq.  ;  in  Mo.,  466. 

Elizabethtown,  Ky.,  381;  Sisters  at,  6n. 

Elliot,  Rev.  Jos.,  at  Fairfield,  Ky.,  492. 

Emigration,  from  Md.  to  Ky.,  68;  from  N.  Carolina  and  Tenn.  to 
Ky.,  70;  of  priests  from  Belgium  to  America,  333;  of  Alsa- 
tians, 335;  of  Germans,  336;  of  French  and  others,  340. 

Emmettslaurgh,  Md.,  Sisters  of  Charity,  363  ;  College  at,  425. 

Eucharist,  Holy,  devotion  of  Rev.  Nerinckx  to,  163,  553. 

Everberg-Meerbeke,  11,  14,  15. 

F. 

Eairfield,  Ky.,  491. 

Fenwick,  Rev.  Edw.,  0.  P.,  in  Ky.,  71 ;  at  St.  Rose's,  168;  birth, 
172;  in  Ohio,  371. 

Fenwick,  Rev.,  S.  J.,  in  New  York,  361. 

Fenwick  familv,  in  Ky.,  73. 

Fenwick,  Mo.,  202. 

Fermont,  Rev.,  119. 

Plaget,  Right  Rev.  B.  J.,  Bp.  of  Bardstown,  99;  at  St.  Stephen's, 
113;  appointed  Bp.,  188;  refuses,  190;  in  Ky.,  236;  ap- 
proves Loretto  Society,  244 ;  blesses  Loretto  chapel,  284; 
preaches  at  St.  Charles,  289;  his  birth,  370;  goes  to  Quebec, 
Can.,  372;  ordains,  387  ;  his  letter  to  Belgium,  435;  calls 
the  Je.suits  to  Ky.,  476;  at  Loretto,  489;  his  eulogy  of  Rev. 
Nerinckx,  530,  543. 

Florissant,  Mo.,  Trappists  at,  111,  446;  Jesuits  at,  467;  Rev. 
Nerinckx  visits,  527 ;  Sisters  at,  590. 

Fordham  College,  S.  J.,  390. 

Fourche,  la.  Mo.,  509. 

Fournier,  Rev.,  sent  to  Ky.,  71 ;  at  St.  Ann's  72,  73 ;  at  Holy- 
Mary's,  74 ;  dies,  75. 

Francis,  St.,  Church,  126. 

Francis,  St.,  Assissi,  441. 

Francis  Hieronyrao,  St.,  441. 

Francis  Xavier,  St.,  Church,  382. 

Frankenbergh,  Prince  John  Henry,  Cardinal  de,  9 ;  in  prison, 
38;  approves  Rev.  Nerinckx  course,  179. 

Frederickstown,  Md.,  363;  Rev.  Malave  at,  425. 

Fredericktown,  Mo.  505 ;  Sisters  at,  572. 

Freemasons,  Rev.  Beschter's  work  against,  364. 

G. 

Gallipolis,  0.,  settled,  340;  episcopal  see  of,  341  ;    first  mass  at, 

341. 
Gaitland,  Rev.  M.,  S.  J.,  472,  473. 
Gallitzin,  Rev.,  Prince,  39,  346. 
Gallitzin,  Princess,  letter  to  Bp.   Carroll,  39,  519;    meets  Rev. 

Nerinckx  in  Amsterdam,  45  ;  her  piety,  48. 
Gardiner,  Mr.,  mission,  Ky.,  74. 
Gaspari,  Uev.,  S.  J.,  602. 
€ates,  Mr.  Vincent,  264,  270;  at  Loretto,  285;  at  Calvary,  563. 


ALPHABETICAL  INDEX.  Q2f 

Genevieve,  Ste.,  Mo.,  529;  Rev.  Nerinckx  dies  at,  530;  sisters- 

at,  572,  575. 
Georgetown,  Md.,  arrival  of  Eev.  Xerinckx  at,  49,  51;  Rev.  De- 

cuyper  at,   83;    Jesuits  at,   91,   425;    college   founded,    132; 

Rev.  Devos  at,  344. 
German  priests,  371  ;  settlement,  Mo.,  475. 
Gethsemani  convent,  Ky.,  gifts  to,  359;  founded,  376  ;  purchased 

by  Tiappists,  376 ;  meeting  of  priests  at,  SSL 
Gibbs,  Alethey,  27L 
Gilbert,  Bro.  Chas.,  389,  457 ;  in  Baltimore,  481 ;  in  Louisville. 

488. 
Girardeau,  Cape,  Mo.,  573.  • 

Gravier,  Rev.,  S.  J.,  in  Ivy.,  65. 
Grand  Coteau.  La.,  591. 

Grayson  Co.,  Ky.,  adventure  with  a  wolf,  225. 
Grenada  Island,  313,  329. 
Grundy,  Miss  Esther,  288 ;  dies  a  sister,  376. 

Guny  (also  ivritten :  Guerry,  Query,  and  Gery),  Rev.  Chas.,  in  Am- 
sterdam, 46;    goes    to    America,   48,    519;    a   Trappist,   61; 
makes  his  profession,  156. 
Gwynn,  Mr.,  mission,  Ky.,  74. 

H. 

Hagan,  Mr.  Henry,  at  Hardin's  Creek,  Ky.,  119. 

Hall,  Captain,  of  Baltimore.  Md.,  337. 

Hamilton,  Leonard,  emigrates  to  Ky.,  70.  73,  271. 

Hanover,  Penn.,  60. 

Hardasty,  Mr.  Chas.,  271. 

Hardin,  Mr.,  his  revenge  on  Rev.  Nerinckx,  231. 

Hardin's  Creek,  Ky.,  mission,  74;  church,  118,  119. 

Hardinsburg,  Ky.,  220,  267;  St.  Rumoldus'  Church,  382;  change 
of  name,  403. 

Harrison,  Gov.,  at  Vincennes,  422. 

Harrod's  Station,  Ky.,  67. 

Hart,  Doctor,  emigrates  to  Ky.,  67. 

Hart,  Miss  Ann,  286. 

Hartford,  Ky.,  220. 

Hassett,  Rev.  Thos.,  V.  G..  New  Orleans,  186. 

Harvey,  Mayor,  Sup.  of  Indians,  575. 

Havern,  Nancy,  joins  Loretto  Society,  243;  takes  veil,  254. 

Havern,  Sally,  joins  Loretto  Society,  248  ;  takes  veil,  256. 

Hayden,  Basil,  emigrates  to  Ky.,  68,  69,  271. 

Hayden,  Miss,  of  Mo.,  283,  501. 

Havana,  Cuba,  Bishop  of,  372. 

Heart,  Sacred,  Society,  Mad.  Mathevon,  472;  at  St.  Mary's,  Kan- 
sas, 473;  on  the  mission,  505;  at  Florissant,  Mo.,  591; 
sketch  of  their  arrival  in  America,  591. 

Hearts,  Sacred,  of  J.  and  M.,  devotion  of  Rev.  Nerinckx  to,  563. 

Henderson,  Colonel,  66. 

Helias,  Rev.,  S.  J.,  475. 

Hendrickx,  Rev.  Henry,  342;  goes  to  New  Orleans,  351;  dies, 
352. 


628  ALPHABETICAL  INDEX. 

Henry,  Rev.,  S.  J.,  to  go  to  Indians,  91 ;  on  the  Potomac,  146  sq. 
Highland,  Ky.,  221.  -  h 

Hill,  Thos.,  emigrates  to  Kv.,  68;  on  Cartwright's  Creek,  71,  72. 
Hill,  Rev.  Walter  H.,  S.  J.,' 67,  445. 
Hill,  Rev..  0.  P.,  433,  442. 
Hopkinsville,  Ky.,   123. 
Hoecken,  Rev.  C,  S.  J.,  472. 
Howard,  Edward,  emigrates  to  Ky.,  68,  69. 
Horse  races  in  Ky.,  in  1807,  149. 
Humility  of  Rev.  Nerinckx,  566. 

Hutchins,  Rev.  J.  B.,  at  Mt.  Mary's,  390;  President  of  the  Col- 
lege, 391. 

I. 

Ignatius,  St.,  Church,  Hardin  Co,,  Ky.,  381. 

Illinois,  79. 

Improvements,  public,  in  U.  S.,  in  1820,  424, 

Importations  of  Rev.  Nerinckx,  349,  350. 

Independence,  Mo.,  595. 

Indiana,  91. 

Indians,  at  Vincennes,  367;  of  Northwest,  372:  customs  of,  421 ; 

Rev.  Desmet  with  the,  467;  Quaker  policy,  474;  girls  adopted 

by  Rev.  Nerinckx,  527. 
Instructions  of  Rev.  Nerinckx,  234. 
Isle  of  France,  330. 
Iroquois  Indians,  64,  66. 
Italian  nobleman  ordained,  397, 

J, 

James,  St.,  Church,  Ky.,  218,  383. 

Janvier,  Rev.,  at  Detroit,  368. 

Jarboe,  Mr.,  578,  sqq. 

Jeanjean,  Kev.,  at  Vincennes,  368. 

Jesuits,  in  Md.,  145,  147;  young  Belgian,  340,  342;  in  La.,  368; 
in  Northwest,  372;  in  Mo.,  445;  history  of  Missouri  prov- 
ince, 465,  sqq. 

John,  St.,  Church,  Ky.,  127;  graveyard,  232. 

John,  St.,  Church,  Md.,  344. 

Johnston  family,  in  Ky.,  73. 

Joseph,  St.,  Church,  Ky.,  125;  painting,  157;  Mich.,  471. 

Jubilee,  first,  in  Ky.,  89. 

K. 

Kansas  City,  577. 

Keith,  Mr.,'  of  Bourbon  Co.,  Ky.,  227. 

Kenney,  Rev.,  S.  J.,  428. 

Kentucky,  early   history,  64,  sqq.;    poverty  of,  86;   population 

of,  405. 
Ketelaer,  Mr.,  of  Mecklin,  445,454. 
Kickapoo  Indians,  470. 
Knight,  Rev.  E.,  Washington,  D.  C,  344. 
Knott,  Mr.  .Fos.,  271. 
KnoxviUe,  Tenii..  157. 
Kohlman,  Rev.,  S.  J.,  342;  provincial,  463, 


ALPHABETIBAL  INDEX.  629 


Lamy,  Right  Rev.,  New  Mex.,  593,  sqq. 

Lancaster  family,  in  Ky.,  68;  on  Pottinger's  Creek,  69. 

Lancaster,  Penn.,  146. 

Langendries,  M.  Constantia,  2,  42. 

Las  Vegas,  New  Mex.,  598,  602. 

Lavialle,  Rev.  P.  J.,  39L 

Lawler,  Rev.  F.,  at  Mt.  Mary's,  390. 

Lazarists,  at  the  Ba'rrens,  Mo.,  531. 

Leavenworth  City,  470. 

Lebanon,  Ky.,  Church,  380 ;  first  trustees,  381 ;  Rev.  Deparcq, 
at,  387 ;  first  called  St.  Hubert,  401 ;  sisters  at,  611. 

Lebanon,  Penn.,  church  built,  364. 

Lee,  Philimer,  of  Md.,  68;  in  Ky.,  69. 

Lesage,  Ten  Broek,  vii.,  340,  361,  392. 

Lewiston,  Ky.,  365. 

Lexington,  Ky.,  73;  church,  126;  population,  402. 

Library  of  Rev.  Nerinckx,  574. 

Linen,  cost  of,  121 ;  in  1807,  349. 

Litchfield,  Kv.,  383. 

Little  Rock,  Ark.,  573, 

London,  Eng.,  434. 

Long  Lick,  Breckinridge  Co.,  Ky.,  384.     See  Anthony,  St. 

Looking  Glass  Prairie,  111.,  111. 

Loretto,  Italy,  295. 

Loretto,  Ky.,  89;  arrival  of  Rev.  Nerinckx  at,  365;  moved  to 
St.  SteiDhen's,  389 ;  removal  of  Rev.  Nerinckx'  remains  to, 
537. 

Loretto  Society,  first  attempt,  135;  second,  136;  objects  of,  139 
250;  corner-stone  laid,  139  ;  building  finished,  141;   bui'ned 
142;  started  anew,  240;    land  bought,  247;  founded,  250. 
first  chapel,  253;   taking  the  veil,  254;  dying,  255  ;  first  Dear 
Mother,    257;    rules   of,  257;    building   the   convent,    260 
named   Loretto,  263;  humility,  276;    first  profession,  280 
chapel  blessed.  284 ;  approved  by  Rome,  304 ;  gifts  to,  358 
how  it  subsists,  377;  Sisters  in  1819,  406  sq. ;  letter  to  Bel- 
gium, 437;  Maryland   postulants,  480,  sqq.  ;   election  of  Su- 
perior, 494;  mode  of  life,  506;  and  Chapters  XXXII.  and 
XXXIIL,  571,  sqq. 

Louisiana,  79. 

Loups  Indians,  93. 

Louisville,  Ky.,  Fort  Nelson,  72;  in  1786,  117,  120,  123;  church, 
126;  prosperity,  214;  freight  to,  352;  paintings  in  Cathedral, 
359;  future  of,  402;  Jesuit  College,  477;  in  1821,  488;  Sisters 
in,  500. 

Luther,  361. 

Lutz,  Rev.,  571. 

M. 
Macheboeuf,  Rev.,  599. 

McGuire,  Rev.  J.,  at  Mt.  Mary's,  390. 
McGuire,  Rev.,  at  Pittsburg,  482. 


030  ALPHABETICAL  INDEX. 

Malave,  Rev.  F.,  S.  J.,  in  Amsterdam,  42;  joins  Society  of 
Jesus,  45;  to  go  to  Indians,  91;  in  Georgetown,  Md..  145  j 
at  Newton,  146;  at  Frederickstown,  363;  founding  schools, 
425. 

Madison  Co.,  Ky.,  73. 

Mannins,  Mr.,  of  Mo.,  502. 

Marechal,  Eight  Rev.,  305,  429,  462. 

Mary,  devotion  of  Rev.  Nerinckx  to  B.  V.  M.,  554. 

Mary,  Holy,  Church,  Kv.,  74;  named,  115;  corner-stone  laid, 
115;  families,  125;  "altar,  153;  painting,  157;  first  high 
mass,  158. 

Marquette,  Rev.,  S.  J.,  in  Ky.,  65. 

Mattingly,  Leonard,  at  Hardin's  Creek,  70,  270. 

]\Tassachusetts,  426. 

Maxwell,  Rev.,  199,  203. 

Mechlin  Seminarv.  354. 

Melton,  Mr.  F.,  271. 

Mercer  Co.,  Ky.,  73. 

Mercer,  Mrs.  Mary,  of  Eng.,  395. 

Merckx,  Rev.,  at  Conewago,  60. 

Methodists,  154,  371,  381  ;  in  Ohio,  404,  416. 

Miami  Indians,  93,  579. 

Michael,  St ,  Church,  Ky.,  125  ;  trouble  at,  199, 

Michigan  limits,  405. 

Milan,  Itnly,  295. 

Milner,  Right  Rev.,  433. 

Miles,  Rev.,  O.  P.,  371. 

Miles,  Josiah,  at  Barrens,  Mo.  201. 

Miles,  Philip,  emigrates  to  Ky.,  68 ;  in  Casey  Co.,  252. 

Miles,  Rev.  George,  S.  J.,  469. 

Milwaukee,  Wise,  7,  477. 

Missionary  life  in  Ky.,  161. 

Miraculous  events:  Vision  of  Sister  Alexandrina,  484;  Rev. 
Nerinckx  saved  from  drowning,  499;  rattlesnake  bites  cured, 
532;  bells  ringing,  532;  "Father  Nerinckx  is  in  heaven," 
534;  relic  not  burned  in  fire,  539;  Mrs.  Burke  cured  of 
blindness,  540. 

Moberly,  Mo.,  Oil. 

Molyneux,  Rev.,  S.  J.,  147. 

Monks  mound.  Mo.,  112. 

Montgomery  family,  in  Ky.,  73,  270. 

Montgomery,  Revs.,  0.  P.,  371. 

Montgomery,  Ala.,  611. 

Montgomery  Court  House,  Md.,  425. 

Mooney,  Capt.,  of  Baltimore,  339. 

Mora,  New  Mex.,  601. 

Moranville,  Rev.  de,  Baltimore,  341  ;  entertains  Rev.  Nerinckx, 
481. 

Morgan,  Miss,  joins  Loretto  Society,  245  ;  postulant,  256 ;  takes 
the  veil,  257 ;   teaches,  275. 

Morganfield,  Ky.,  382. 

Mortitied  life,  of  Rev.  Nerinckx,  259,  549,  551,  566  sqq. ;  of  Sis- 
tors,  258,  277. 


ALPHABETICAL  INDEX.  631 

Mount  Carmel,  Ky.,  498. 

Mount  Olivet,  Ky.,  509. 

Mount  Mary's,  Ky.,  purchased,  383;  improved,  384;  college  be- 
gan, 388 ;  given  to  Je.suits,  389 ;  given  to  Resurrectionists, 
391 ;  donation  to,  408  ;  e.xchanged  for  St.  Stephen's,  546. 

Mullanphy,  Judge,  of  Mo.,  Ill,  592. 

Munos,  Eev.,  0.  P.,  175. 

Murphy,  Rev.  W.,  S.  J.,  390. 

N. 

Napoleon  I.,  296. 

Nassau,  Prince  of  Orange,  333. 

Natchez,  Miss.,  Bishopric,  397;  priests  in  Diocese  of,  398. 

Nazareth  Convent,  Ky.,  gifts  to,  356;  founded,  395 ;  Sisters  of, 
489. 

Neale,  Right  Rev.,  a  Jesuit,  147;  Coadjutor  Bp.,  196;  Archbishop 
of  Baltimore,  305;  establishes  convent  at  Georgetown,  426. 

Negro,  Rev.  Nerinckx  salutes  the,  233;  slaves  to  be  cared 
for,  269. 

Negro  Sisterhood,  510. 

Nellie,  M.  B.,  356;  her  generosity,  357. 

Neosho  River,  Kansas,  576. 

Nerinckx,  Rev.  Chas.,  birth,  1;  goes  to  college.  7;  enters  semi- 
nary, 8;  vicar  at  Mechlin,  9;  pastor  of  Everberg,  10;  his 
love  of  children,  12;  catechism,  14;  seeks  a  refuge  in  Den- 
dermonde,  16;  works  in  the  hospital,  18;  his  ftiith  in  Provi- 
dence, 20,  passim:  punishes  a  blasphemer,  21  ;  his  writings, 
22;  refuses  to  take  the  oath,  25;  goes  to  America,  48;  rea- 
sons forgoing  to  the  missions,  80 ;  resigns  his  position  in 
Ky.,  179;  nominated  Bp.  Adm.  of  New  Orleans,  187;  applies 
for  the  Louisiana  Mission,  197,  sq. ;  reasons  for  refusing  the 
mitre,  204;  moves  to  Loretto,  262,  goes  to  Europe,  292;  de- 
sires to  join  the  Jesuits,  304;  returns  to  America,  337:  ar- 
rives in  Baltimore,  340 ;  his  love  for  beauty  of  God's  house, 
353  ;  arrives  at  Loretto,  365  ;  resumes  direction  of  Loretto, 
373 ;  second  trip  to  Europe,  386 ;  his  will  and  wishes,  408 ; 
second  journey  to  Europe,  414;  leaves  Ky.,  514;  his  fare- 
well, 517;  his  death,  530. 

Nerinckx,  Rev.,  John  H.,  born,  3;  a  Capuchin,  3;  imprisoned, 
4;  in  Somerstown,  Eng.,  dies,  5  ;  intends  going  to  America, 
222;  in  Belgium,  329  ;  in  London,  392;  his  schools,  432,  442. 

Nerinckx,  Sebastian,  marries,  1  ;  moves  to  Ninove,  2. 

Nerinckx,  Peter  Joseph,  3. 

Nerinckx,  Mai'y  Catharine,  6. 

Nerinckx,  Jane  Constance,  6. 

Nerinckx,  Mary  Ann,  goes  to  London,  etc.,  6. 

New  Lancaster,  154. 

New  Madrid,  Mo.,  572. 

New  Orleans,  La.,  Diocese  of,  186;  troubles  at,  204,  206;  free 
port  of  entry,  351. 

Newton,  James,  495. 

Newton,  Md.,  146. 


632  ALPHABETICAL  INDEX. 

New  Tract,  Ky.,  266,  385. 

Noble,  Mr.,  of  Va.,  416 ;  his  conversion,  417. 

O. 

O'Brien,  Rev.,  at  Pittsburg.  293. 

«)'Brien,  Rev.  Tim.,  Md.,  483. 

O'Bryan,  Ignatius,  270. 

Odin,  Right  Rev.,  531,  535. 

O'Flynn,  Rev.,  213. 

Ohio,  mission  founded,  371 ;   Rev.  Young,  0.  P.,  404;  limits,  405. 

Olivier,  Rev.  Donat.,  at   Prairie   du   Rocher,    75,  90;    at  Caho- 

kias,  199;  in  Mo.,  202. 
Olivier,  Rev.,  at  New  Orleans,  186;  Vic. -Gen.,  217. 
Organ,  first,  in  Ky.,  355. 
O'Robey,  Joseph,  271. 

Osage  Indians,  473,  sqq. ;  sisters'  mission  with,  575,  sqq. 
Oweusboro,  Ky.,  222. 

P. 

Paintings,  celebrated,  at  Louisville,  Ky.,  359. 

Papin,  Mr,  580. 

Pawnee  Fork,  597. 

Panther  Creek,  Ky.,  221. 

Peemans,  Mr.  Jos.,  38,  39;  his  generosity,  354,  355,  358. 

Petit,  Rev.,  with  Pottawatomies,  471  ;  his  death,  472. 

Peiialver  y  Cardenas,  Right  Rev.,  New  Orleans,  186. 

Pine  Bluffs,  Ark..  573. 

Pittsburg,  352,  293,  482. 

Ponziglione,  Rev..  S.  J..  473. 

Port  Arkansas,  573 

Poplar  Neck.  Ky.,  74. 

Pottawatomie  Indians,  470;  of  Mich.,  471  sqq.,  603. 

Pottinger's  Creek,  first  church  in  Ky.,  70. 

Poverty  of  Loretto,  277. 

Presbyterians  in  Bardstown,  Ky.,  396;  in  Lebanon,  401. 

Procession  in  1807,  150. 

Pueblo,  New  Mex.,  611. 

Q. 

Quebec,  156;  Bp.  Flaget  goes  to,  372. 

R. 

Rapier,  James,  in  Ky.,  58,  69. 

Rav,  Jos.,  385. 

Red  Bank,  Ky.,  215;  land  at,  218. 

Resurrectionists  in  Ky.,  391. 

Rovokjtion,  French,  12,  15;  prisoners  of,  IS,  19;  effects  of,  26. 

Rhe,  Isle  of,  16. 

Rhodes,  Mary,  comes  from  Md.,  240  ;  starts  a  school,  241;  takes 
the  veil,  254;  elected  Dear  Mother,  275. 

Rhodes,  Nancy,  joins  Loretto  Society,  246 ;  Superior,  247;  postu- 
lant, 255;  takes  tlie  veil,  256;  elected  Dear  Mother,  257; 
.  sickness  of  272 ;  dies,  273;  Rev.  Nerinckx'  tribute  to  her 
memory,  274. 


ALPHABETICAL  INDEX.  633 

Richard,  Rev.  Gabriel,  at  Detroit,  75 ;  visits  St.  Joseph's,  47L 

Rigorism  of  Rev.  Nerinckx,  549. 

Rivet,  Rev.,  at  Vincennes,  Ind.,  75;  dies,  92. 

Rochefoucault,  de  la.  Poor  Clare,  53. 

Rocky  Mountains,  470. 

Rockville,  Md  ,  343,  sq. 

Rohan,  Rev.  W.  de,  70. 

Rome,  Italy,  296,  298,  sqq. 

Rolling  Fork,  Ky.,  mission,  73;  church,  74;  attended  by  Rev. 

Nerinckx,  114.. 
Rosary  Society,  326. 
Rosati,  Right  Rev.,  C.  M.,  in  Vincennes,  367;  converts  an  Indian 

chief,  419;  in  Mo.,  499;  at  the  Barrens,  501;  letter  of,  606; 

Bp.  of  St.  Louis,  527;  buries  Rev.  Nerinckx,  535. 
Rose,  St.,  Church,  Ky.,  169,  380, 
Rose,  St.,  Md.,  344. 
Kough  Creek,  Ky.,  215,  216. 
Rudd,  Susanna,  271. 

Rules  of  Loretto  Society,  257,  330;  printed,  433;  amended,  442. 
Russell  familv,  69. 
Ryan,  Mrs.,  285. 
Rynev,  Robert,  271. 
Rysselman,  Bro.,  101 ;  a  Jesuit,  112,  446. 


Salmon,  Rev.  A.,  74,  75. 

i^anta  Fe,  New  Mex.,  599. 

Schoenmakers,  Rev.,  S.  J.,  473,  575. 

Schools,  Catholic,   130;  in  U.  S.,  in  1820,400;  in  Ky.,  405;  in 

Maryland,  425  ;  Indian,  468. 
Scott  Co.,  Kv-,  73. 
Seminary,  Ecclesiastical,  in  Ky.,  176;  St.  Thomas,  266;  Belgian 

—for  America,  323 ;  gifts  to  St.   Thomas,  355 ;  Bardstown, 

393 ;  St.  Thomas,  395 ;  theological,  in  1820,  399 ;  Jesuits  at, 

467. 
Seneca,  Little,  Md.,  344. 
Shawnee  Indians,  64,  65. 
Shepherdsville.  Ky.,  69. 
Sick,  Rev.  Nerinckx  care  of,  561. 
Simpson  family,  Ky.,  270. 
Simms  family,  Ky.,  270. 

Sisters  of  Charitv.     See  Nazareth.— At  Emmettsburgh,  Md.,  425. 
Smedts,  Rev.,  S.  J.,  452,  sqq. ;  in  Mo.,  466. 
Smith  family,  Ky.,  69. 
Somerset,  O.,  416. 

Spalding,  Most  Rev.,  67;  baptized,  282. 
Spalding,  Benedict,  in  Ky.,  70;  at  Rolling  Fork,  117. 
Spalding,  Monica,  281. 
Speaker  family,  in  Ky.,  252. 
Springfield,  Ky.,  168. 
Springfield,  Mo.,  611. 
Saint  Louis,  Mo,  202;    University,  469;    German  Church,  476; 

Sisters  at,  497,  611. 


634  .        ALPHABETICAL  INDEX. 

St.  Stephen,  Ky.,  Chapel,  73,  75;  Rev.  Nerinckx  at,  89;  cradle 
of  Catholicity,  113;  families,  125;  painting,  157;  home, 
237  ;  Loretto  moved  to,  546  ;  old  cabin,  609. 

Stoddard,  Mr.,  218. 

Stoves,  first,  in  Kentucky,  286. 

Strahan,  Rev.,  S.  J.,  347. 

Strength,  bodily,  of  Rev.  Nerinckx,  229,  232,  261,  495. 

Stuart,  Christina,  241 ;  takes  the  veil,  254 ;  sister  eldest,  275 ; 
dies,  374. 

Sussex,  Duke  of,  432. 

T. 

Taos,  New  Mex.,  601. 

Tennessee,  70,  80;  limits,  405;  sisters  in,  579. 

Teresa,  St..  Church,  Ky.,  383. 

Test  oath  in  Eng.  Parliament,  433. 

Thayer,  Rev.,  74. 

Thomas,  St.,  Church,  Ky.,  125;  seminary.     See  that  word. 

Thompson  family,  in  Ky.,  69. 

Thompson,  Mr.,  "of  the  Alleghanies,  422,  466. 

Timmermans,  Rev.  P.  J.,  S.  J.,  346;  dies,  347  ;  on  mission,  466. 

Tomson,  John  B.,  271. 

Topeka,  Kan.,  472. 

Trappists,  at  Conewago,  54;  at  Holy  Cross,  90,  100;  at  St.  Ber- 
nard's, 108;  life  of,  108;  at  Florissant,  111  ;  in  111.,  HI ;  go  to 
Europe,  112  ;  gifts  to,  356 ;  in  Gethsemani,  Ky.,  376  ;  in  Floris- 
sant, 446. 

Tuite,  Rev.,  O.  P.,  173,  371. 

Tucker's  settlement.  Mo.,  202. 

Tyler,  Right  Rev.,  426. 

U. 

Union  Co.,  Ky.,  267;  church,  382. 
Unitarian  Church,  Baltimore,  Md.,  430. 
Urban,  Rev.  Guillet,  Trappist,  55,  101,  106,  159. 
Ursulines  at  New  Orleans,  351. 

V. 

Van  Assche,  Rev.,  S.  J..  446,  sqq. ;  in  Mo.,  466;  at  Florissant^ 
590. 

Van  Damme,  General,  340. 

Van  de  Velde,  Very  Rev.,  8,  38. 

Van  de  Velde,  Right  Rev.,  goes  to  America,  338 ;  his  vocation,. 
345;  joins  the  Jesuits,  346;  letter  of,  446 ;  Vice-Provincial, 
476. 

Van  de  Weyer,  Rev.,  O.  P.,  23. 

Van  Gills,  at  Bois  le  Due,  453. 

Van  Horsigh,  Rev.,  S.  J.,  345,  455,  sqq.,  462. 

Van  Loo,  Mr.,  450. 

Van  Quickenborne,  Rev.,  S.  J.,  463;  goes  to  Mo.,  466,  sqq.,  473; 
with  Osages,  575. 

Van  Rysselberghe,  Bro.,  389,  457,  489,  529,  535. 

Verhsegen,  Rev.,  S.  J.,  455,  sqq. ;  in  Mo.,  466 ;  at  St.  Louis  Uni- 
versity, 469;  provincial,  475 ;  in  Ky.,  476. 


ALPHABETICAL  INDEX.  635 

Verloo,  Rev.,  448. 

Verreydt,  Rev.,  8.  J..  455  sqq. ;  still  living,  479. 

Verheyen,  Rev.,  S.  J.,  at  Port  Tobacco,  Md.,  346. 

Veulman,  Rev..  S.  J.,  455,  sqq. ;  in  Md.,  462. 

Viala,  Rev.  A.,  in  Ky.,  391. 

Visitation  Convent,  Georgetown,  Md.,  361. 

Vincennes,  Ind.,  Rev.  Rivet  at,  75  ;  Post,  79;  Eev.  Nerinckx  at, 
90,  91  ;  settlers  at,  92 ;  Rev.  Flaget  at,  99,  397  ;  Indians  at, 
158,  419;  Rev.  Rosati  at,  367;  priests  at,  368;  new  pastor 
at,  496. 

Virginians,  in  Ky.,  66. 

Vocations,  religious,  in  America,  369;  Rev.  Nerinckx'  discern- 
ment of,  556. 

W. 

Wabash  River,  65. 

Ward,  Rev.,  S.  J.,  345. 

Waller,  John,  71. 

Walton,  Gen.,  271. 

Washington,  Mo.,  475;  Ky.,  153,  154;  D.  C,  427,  428. 

Wathen,  Ann,  288. 

Wayne,  Gen.,  66. 

Westphalia,  Mo.,  475. 

Wethington,  John,  101  ;  in  Casey  Co.,  252. 

AVheatly  familv,  in  Ky.,  252,  270. 

Wheeling,  Va.",  163. 

Whelan,  Rev.,  first  priest  in  Ky.,  69. 

White,  Rev.,  S.  J.,  463. 

White  Marsh,  428,  463. 

Willet,  Rev.,  0.  P.,  371. 

Willett,  John,  270. 

Wilson,  Rev.,  0.  P.,  168,  171.  371. 

Wouters,  Rev.,  S.  J..  109,  146. 

Wuyts,  Rev.  F.,  75,  608,  610. 

Y. 

Yates,  Rev.  S.  J.,  469. 

Yellow  Banks,  little,  221 ;  great,  222. 

Young,  Rev.,  0.  P.,  371. 

A.  M.  D.  G. 


Date  Due 


■ ^ 

^ 

( 

Jkjc^Cidii^ 

1^ 

■'"' 

1 

!                               

i 
1 

Mm  -   itt' 

J5^^ 

U 

,  •WH  -^  19/ 

'      .'/ 

U 

r~nrmr 

L 

i 

7 

_      1 

^ 

3  9031   01338270  0 


647£ 


■■■■ii 


BOSTON  COLLEGE  LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  HEIGHTS 
CHESTNUT  HILL,  MASS. 


Books  may  be  kept  for  two  weeks  and  may 
be  renewed  for  the  same  period,  unless  re- 
served . 

Two  cents  a  day  is  charged  for  each  book 
kept  overtime. 

If  you  cannot  find  what  you  want,  ask  the 
lyibrarian  who  will  be  glad  to  help  you. 

The  borrower  is  responsible  for  books  drawn 
on  his  card  and  for  all  fines  accruing  on  the 
same. 


